


Kingdom Hearts: Remnant

by Vengfulfate



Category: Kingdom Hearts, RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 106,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vengfulfate/pseuds/Vengfulfate
Summary: Ruby Rose has spent the last three years training as a Keyblade wielder on the Land of Departure. After a sudden attack the world falls to darkness, and Ruby finds herself stranded on her own world and drawn (unwillingly) into events that make it difficult to maintain the secrecy called for by the sacred World Order.
Comments: 74
Kudos: 64





	1. Connection

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fears and Lies Melt Away](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16944057) by [ThatOnePsycho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOnePsycho/pseuds/ThatOnePsycho). 



> Howdy, all! Welcome to my first attempt at a Crossover story! I actually have a few crossover ideas to mix RWBY with other medias, but this is the one that won out! And that is largely thanks to ThatOnePsycho, whose story gave me solid ideas I felt a need to instantly pursue. This may even be one of my longer fics. There will kind of be two parts to it, with the second more than likely sectioned off as a sequel down the line. This first part will focus more on the RWBY side of things with Ruby trying to keep the right secrets while at Beacon. I hope you all enjoy!

Kairi smiled as she watched the gentle ocean from the beach shore. The excitement of visiting a brand new world never ceased to excite her, and this place in particular reminded her of her childhood playground on the Destiny Islands. Peaceful memories flooded the redhead, times of her and her friends. From before their world was turned upside down. From before the Keyblade. From before Xehanort's war. And some from after, too. After the guardians of light saw the other side of that war as it's victors, allowing Kairi to enjoy simple moments like this without guilt.

A digital jingle sounded in Kairi's pocket. It brought her back to reality and reminded her that even though they have achieved a greater peace, there was still work to be done. Work that a Keyblade wielder like her should be getting back to. She pulled out the noisy device, her Gummiphone, and answered the call. Aqua's face appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Kairi," Aqua greeted.

"Master Aqua!" Kairi called out, "It's good to hear from you."

"How are things going?" Aqua asked politely.

"I thought you weren't allowed to help me on my Mark of Mastery?" Kairi teased.

"Who said I'm helping?" Aqua smiled, "I'm simply… asking for a status report. Besides, after all you've been through, _we've all been though…_ Your formal exam is rather simple for a reason."

Both girls shared a small giggle.

"So?" Aqua picked back up, "how are things?"

"This world is an interesting one," Kairi began, "I believe it's called 'Remnant'. It's a very large world with it's own magic and troubles."

"Like what?" Aqua was intrigued.

"Well, their magic is based on some kind of natural crystal they mine, I'm not entirely sure I understand it," Kairi explained, "as for their 'troubles', there are monsters native to this world that they call 'Grimm'."

"'Grimm'?" Aqua asked for elaboration.

"They're not too different from heartless," Kairi continued, "they're creatures of darkness, all black, without hearts and apparently soulless. But instead of seeking hearts for themselves, all they crave is destruction."

"That is interesting..." Aqua face was thoughtful. "I, personally, have encountered few worlds with natural threats on par with heartless or the unversed."

"Don't forget the nobodies!" A voice behind Aqua piped up, either Ventus or Roxas, though which of the two Kairi could only guess without seeing them.

"Because of these 'Grimm', the people of this world have developed a warrior class they call 'Huntsmen', who specialize in studying and fighting them." Kairi concluded her findings.

"Perhaps we misjudged," Aqua responded, "mistook these Grimm for heartless. Perhaps the threat to that world is not as grave as we assumed."

Kairi shook her head. "I've definitely encountered heartless in my time here. There are very few of them compared the size of this world, but they exist."

Another face appeared on screen, and Kairi could now tell the other voice was Ventus. "Maybe this 'warrior class' has something to do with that?" he posited.

Aqua took her friends theory into account. "Worlds with similar specialized soldier castes tend to have an inordinately high number of fighters. It is possible they've been destroying heartless for years, all while assuming they were another kind of Grimm."

"A society of hero warriors could also easily lead to prospects," Kairi added, "for the next generation of Keyblade wielders, our future students."

"Let's tackle one issue at a time, Kairi," Aqua refucused her friends. "The heartless _are_ on Remnant, and your mission still stands."

"Right," Kairi nodded, "I've traced a large concentration of heartless to a small island locally known as Patch. I believe the Keyhole is somewhere on this island."

"Good work," Aqua praised. "Remember, a world's heart is still only one heart. All it takes is a single lucky Shadow breaking through the Keyhole's natural defenses for darkness to swallow a world. Find it, seal it, and return to the Land of Departure as a Master. May your heart be your guiding key."

Kairi smiled as the call ended and put away her Gummiphone. A rustling in the bushes nearby caught her attention, and she turned in time to see a young girl, couldn't be more than five years old, with dark red hair and silver eyes staring at her.

* * *

Ruby Rose loved going to the beach. And her family lived so close that it wasn't even difficult! They weren't always happy when she went on her own, but she was careful! And she knew what to do if she saw a monster! There were no monsters today, so the young girl easily made it all the way to the water.

As she arrived, she heard a voice nearby. She was still in 'be careful' mode, and tried to approach quietly. What she found was a girl, either a teenager or a young adult, with bright red hair. She wore a hooded, pink, sleeveless mini-dress with plaid frills, as well as short boots. Various bracelets and accessories hung off her, and a petite pauldron with a large button adorned her left shoulder.

Ruby stepped on a twig, and the girl's attention was drawn to her. Not knowing what else to do, Ruby froze.

The girl smiled, her blue eyes shining. "Hello," the girl greeted. She knelt down onto her knees until she was looking up at the little girl. "What are you doing here?"

Ruby's eye lingered on the pocket she watched the girl put something away into. "Was that your scroll? That's a weird scroll."

 _Scroll?_ Kairi thought to herself. _This world must have it's own version of a Gummiphone, which they call scrolls…_ "It's a very unique device," Kairi explained, not entirely lying.

"Are you a huntress?" Ruby asked in excitement.

"You could say that," Kairi answered confidently. "You could also say I'm on a _secret_ mission," she added, bringing her index finger in front of her lips.

"Ohhh…!" the little girl became even more excited. "Wassayur name!?"

Kairi giggled, "If I told you that, I wouldn't be being very secret, would I?"

"But, but..." Ruby thought for a moment. "If I know your name, then I know when someone's askin' if I seen you! Then I could just say no!"

"But how can you know my name if you've never seen me?" Kairi teased further. She watched the little girl squirm for a moment while trying to come up with another excuse. Finally, the Keyblade wielder simply held up her hand. "My name is Kairi."

The little smiled and took Kairi's hand to shake. "I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!"

"It's nice to meet you, Ruby!" Kairi smiled.

"Have you had dinner!? You could come to my place! I'm sure dad wouldn't mind a huntress joining dinner!" Ruby casually offered.

Kairi's stomach grumbled as if on cue. True, this island was small, but that didn't mean the Keyhole would be any easier to find. It's not like they tended to be in plain sight. If this little girl's father really would house her for the night, she could get some proper rest and be ready to search in the morning. "All right, Ruby. Lead the way."

* * *

Ruby's family turned out to be just her father and an older sister, both of which were blonde. They lived in a modest cabin outside of the main settlements. With the prevalence of the Grimm threat, Patch must be very peaceful indeed if someone felt comfortable raising their children in the countryside. "I am very sorry to impose, Mr. Rose."

"Eh, it's fine," the father, Taiyang, smiled. "Actually, you're not the first huntsmen Rubes has invited to dinner. And I do know how the life can get. And please, it's Xiao Long, not Rose."

Kairi tilted her head. She didn't have personal experience with 'family names', but she was sure the child shared their parent's last name.

"Rose was Ruby's mother," Taiyang explained, "We never married, and she… died a few years ago. Ruby decided she wanted to be a Rose, to honor her mother."

"That's very sweet," Kairi offered her condolences, "she seems to have a big heart, with lots of light to share."

"That's not very hard to see," Taiyang smiled.

"Kairi!" Ruby came running into the living room where Kairi and Taiyang were talking. "Are you staying for dinner!? Is she staying for dinner, dad!?"

"Well?" Taiyang looked to Kairi.

"As long as I'm not imposing," the young Keyblade wielder answered.

"Of course not," Taiyang assured her.

"Can I see your weapon!?" Ruby suddenly asked with stars in her eyes.

"E-excuse me?" Kairi was caught of guard.

"She's a bit of a weapons nut," Taiyang rubbed the back of his head in embarassment. "She loves, loves, _loves_ them. Can't wait to have her own one day."

"Isn't it impolite to wave a weapon in someone's home?" Kairi deflected. "But maybe, if you're good, I'll show you outside in the morning."

"Who says I'm not good?" Ruby asked, genuinely confused.

"Don't think I've forgotten you heading to the beach on your own again, little lady," Taiyang reminded his daughter, making the little girl freeze.

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at the interaction. She certainly could have found worse ways to spend the night than in company like this.

* * *

Morning came, and Kairi prepared to leave the house. Little Ruby and her sister were still sleeping, but she did encounter Taiyang on her way out. "I thought I was going to have to leave without saying goodbye," Kairi told him as she passed through the living room.

"Heading out already?" Taiyang asked. "Ruby would love to see you off."

"Unfortunately, I'm on a bit of a time crunch," Kairi admitted, "But after, I'll come say goodbye before I leave here, if I may?"

"Huntsmen are always welcome in my house," Taiyang informed her proudly, "and it would certainly make Ruby's day. She seemed to take a liking to you last night."

"In that case, I'll see you later." Kairi placed her hand over her chest and bowed her head slightly, "may your heart be your guiding key."

The phrase made Taiyang raise an eyebrow. He shrugged it off. Despite the unusual words, he could sense the benevolent intent behind them. "Good luck to you on your mission," he nodded in return.

With that, Kairi left. The Keyhole would not be easy to find, but perhaps someone in town could point her to old ruins or sacred lands. It wouldn't be the first time a Keyhole had become to center of a world's religion, if Master Eraqus's journals were to be believed. As she walked, she failed to notice a little shadow tailing her away from the Xiao Long house.

* * *

Kairi summoned her Keyblade to cut through the dense forest growth. After hours of asking vague questions, she finally got an answer she could work with. A part of the forest that, inexplicably, seemed more like a jungle than anything. Such a drastic anomaly in the ecosystem couldn't be explained, at least not by the science of Remnant.

Kairi knew different. She knew this kind of change could be affected by exposing the land to a world's heart. The kind of exposure that can be the result of the world's heart's own energy pouring through its open Keyhole.

Destiny's Embrace cut through one last vine, and exposed a cave entrance. Kairi could feel the raw light of the world's heart emanating from the cave in waves. "I've found it!" The young Keyblade wielder dashed into the cave excitedly. It was a small cave, only one larger chamber. At the far back was a glowing Keyhole with the world's energy slowly flowing outward. Kairi rasied Destiny's Embrace, but before she could summon her Keyblade's light, she heard a commotion behind her.

A familiar shape came running into the cave. "Kairi! Kairi, Grimm!"

"Ruby!?" Kairi was stunned. Had the little girl been following her all day, since she left the house that morning?

"Kairi! Grimm!" the little girl took cover behind the Keyblade wielder.

Kairi looked toward the cave entrance to see what had chased Ruby inside. A group of Shadows wiggled their way into the chamber. "Not Grimm," Kairi readied her combat stance, "heartless!"

The group of Shadows was no problem, each being dispatched with a single slash from Destiny's Embrace. But that didn't change the fact that the heartless had found the Keyhole. Kairi could not have been a moment too soon.

It also didn't change the fact a certain little girl had apparently followed her here. After quickly destroying the Shadows, she turned to face Ruby. "And just _what_ are you doing here!?"

Ruby knew she was in trouble, but still wanted to explain herself. "Y-you left without saying goodbye… I just wanted to see your weapon..."

"Ruby..." Kairi sighed, "this isn't a game. You can't follow… huntsmen around on their missions. It's dangerous."

"I knew you'd protect me," Ruby argued.

"That may be," Kairi knelt down, "but now I can't focus entirely on my mission. Now I have to split my attention between doing my job and keeping you safe. And what if I fail? What if I got hurt and could no longer protect you? What if _you_ got hurt? What would your family think? What are they thinking _now_ , after you vanished on them?"

Ruby got really quiet. Kairi's words hit her like a ton of bricks. Of course she wasn't thinking about any of that.

Kairi heard something coming down the cave. Something bigger than a couple of Shadows. She quickly picked Ruby up and found a large rock she could hide the girl behind. "Now, you are going to stay here. I'm going to fight this monster, finish my mission, and take you home."

"But I want to help!" Ruby began to step out from behind the rock.

"Ruby!" Kairi used a harsher tone to convey how serious this situation had gotten. "The best way to help me is to stay hidden, so the monster doesn't attack you."

Ruby looked like she had just been slapped. She nodded slowly and slinked back behind the rock. Kairi felt bad about raising her voice at the girl, but there wasn't time to worry about that right now. She raised her kayblade and waited for the new heartless.

She didn't have to wait long. The sunlight from the entrance was blocked by a large figure. Some heartless take shapes related to the world they invade, and this one certainly looked like the Grimm Kairi had seen. If not for the heartless symbol adorning its wolf-skull mask, she may have even thought it was another 'Beowolf' herself. Other subtle differences was that this creature was a true quadruped, and a black and purple smoke escaped it's mouth with each exhale. It was also massive, but that was a less subtle difference.

It looked frightening, but by using Scan, Kairi could sense it's energy. It wasn't weak, but to the experienced Keyblade wielder, it wasn't impressive either. _I've taken on stronger beasts than this,_ Kairi smiled.

The beast roared and tried to turn Kairi into paste with it's large, clawed paw. Kairi easily leapt between the claws as they came down. She fell towards the heartless's face, bringing down Destiny's Embrace as she did so. The strike disoriented the heartless, allowing Kairi to follow up with a six-hit combo.

The heartless jumped back after Kairi's combo and roared, covering Kairi in the smoke from it's mouth as it did so. Her skin began to sting, and she could feel her own energy being eaten away. She quickly jumped out of the smoke, though still felt her energy chip away for a few more seconds after she did so. _So his breath hurts, and carries some poison properties. Need to stay away from that._

Meanwhile, Ruby dared to peek out of cover. She still wanted to see this fight, and honestly, how much more trouble could she even get in? And she was met with a treat as she saw Kairi throw a fireball out of her flowery sword. _Where does she even keep the Dust in that thing?_

"Fira!" Kairi shouted, the second-level fire spell leaving her Keyblade. It struck the heartless in the side of it's snout, forcing it to face away as Kairi ran at it. She collapsed into a slide with her Keyblade raised, slicing down the entire length of the monster's underside. After coming to her feet behind the heartless's back legs, Kairi jumped onto the beast's back. She ran back toward the front, cutting slices into the best with each step.

She once again leapt with the intention to come down on the heartless's snout, but the heartless wouldn't be caught by the same trick twice. At the last moment, it thrashed its head upward. Its snout caught Kairi around her middle and bounced her into the air. As she fell, it's claw swiped at her with enough force to send her rocketing into the wall almost faster than one could see.

Kairi fell to the ground and struggled to stand. She was not so much damaged as she was dizzied. But being dizzied still left one open, that much even Ruby could see. She could also see the beast slowly approach Kairi. Like with many things, Ruby then acted without sparing much thought to her decision.

"HEY YOU BIG MEANIE!" Ruby jumped out from behind cover. The heartless stopped and turned to face the new voice in time to see the little girl throw a rock at it. The rock fell pitifully short of striking the beast, and both Ruby and the heartless watched it bounce across the ground. The beast huffed and started to walk towards the child.

Kairi regained full use of her senses in time to see Ruby backing up against the wall. "RUBY!" Kairi cried, reaching out to the younger redhead.

Time seemed to slow. A feeling Kairi was only vaguely familiar with blossomed in her heart. A _power_ flowed into her. The power to stand, the power to fight, and the power to do so much more. Kairi noticed she could still move easily while everything around her slowed to a crawl, and she swore she could see rose petals appear out of thin air.

To Ruby and the heartless, it was only an instant that Kairi appeared between the two, striking the heartless twice before it could even register the thought. She jumped backward with a Fira, further separated the monster from the little girl.

While the beast reeled, Kairi had a moment to think over what happened. She had activated a Link, but with who? Who did she even _attempt_ to form a bond with? Sora? Aqua? But this wasn't either of their power…

The monster stared back at her, and Kairi settled with figuring this out later. For now, she could feel the benefits of the Link. Whoever she connected to had decent strength, but a truly impressive amount of magic reserve. So she decided to use that magic.

"Blizzaga!" Kairi froze the left side of the heartless's face solid. She rushed, striking the ice and shattering it along with a section of the monster's 'mask'. "Thundaga!" The lightning bolt struck the heartless's new weak spot dead on. Scan told Kairi it was nearly finished by now.

It swung it's claw, but Kairi was prepared. "Reflaga!" she cast the barrier in time for the claw to slam into it. It burst, damaging the heartless that much more as it staggered. To end things, Kairi focused. She summoned a devastating power into her Keyblade with the help of her new Link and activated her Shotlock. She jumped into the air, summoned a dozen pearls of pure light, and rained them down onto the heartless.

It was overkill, to be perfectly honest. Kairi would later admit that if she wasn't high on her Link, she would have probably found a calmer way to dispatch the heartless. The results were undeniable either way. Kairi stood victorious, Ruby was safe, and the beast faded away. A large crystalline heart floated shortly into the air, before vanishing into the ether.

"Woah..." Ruby was entranced by everything she had just seen.

Kairi felt her Link fade, and frowned. She likely wouldn't know who she connected with now, not unless she met them or managed to connect again in the future. _Oh well. I should finish my job before another strong heartless appears._

Kairi looked to the Keyhole once more and raised her Keyblade. Ruby watched as even more light gathered at the tip of Kairi's weapon. It fired a beam of solid white into the strange Keyhole. There was a flash of light and a locking sound. The Keyhole disappeared, leaving behind only a keyhole-shaped indent in the rock face. "What was that!?" Ruby asked loudly.

Kairi looked back to Ruby and sighed as she remembered the situation her stowaway had built for herself. "That was my mission," Kairi answered. "Which means… it's time to take you back home."

The realization dawned on the young girl as well. "Uh oh..."

"C'mon," Kairi reached for Ruby's shoulder, "we need to get going, the sooner the bet..ter…" As her hand came to rest on Ruby's shoulder, Kairi felt something that answered her questions. A pulse between the two of them, faint but existent. "It was you..."

"What was me?" Ruby asked.

"The Link... I connected to you," Kairi realized, "to your heart."

"To my heart?" Ruby asked, "What's that mean?"

"If it means what I think it means..." Kairi answered, "then it means things got a lot more complicated."


	2. World Order

The dining room of the Xiao Long household was uncomfortably quiet. Kairi had just spent the better part of two hours explaining several things to Taiyang, things the man would need to know if Kairi had any hope of following through on her intentions. He obviously had many questions, and Kairi did her best to answer them patiently.

"So… you're not really a huntress?" He finally asked at the end.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "That's your takeaway?"

Taiyang dropped his head into his hands. "It's the only thing I can… _comprehend_ right now. You _really_ expect me to believe in magic, in other worlds, and that my Ruby is now in line to inherit some ancient power? What even _is_ a 'Keyblade'?"

To answer that, Kairi summoned her own. The flash of light made Taiyang jump, and he stared at the weapon with both shock and awe. "So… maybe I'm a little more receptive to this 'magic' business…"

Kairi dispelled her Keyblade before continuing, "The fact is, there is a chance Ruby is already set to inherit the power of the Keyblade. If she does, she'll need the right training. Training no one on Remnant can give her."

"How much of a chance?" Taiyang asked.

"I wish I knew," Kairi confessed, "It would make this conversation so much easier."

Taiyang groaned as he processed. "She wants to be huntress, and I don't believe that dream will die with age."

"Is this so different than sending her to one of your combat schools?" Kairi pointed out, "She'll be training to fight, to use her special abilities, and to use those skills to protect people. It will just be on a… much larger scale."

"Sending her to Beacon is a little different than sending her to _another world entirely,_ " Taiyang laid out his counter-point. "How would I even visit this 'Land of Departure'?"

This was the question Kairi feared most. "You… couldn't."

"Excuse me!?" Taiyang started to raise his voice.

"It's the World Order," Kairi told him. She had explained the concept earlier, and Taiyang groaned again. "Technically, I shouldn't be telling you any of this. The only reason I am-"

"Is because of Ruby," Taiyang cut her off, his voice quieter, if not quite calmer.

"I promise, I have no intention of separating your family," Kairi assured him, "I'm sure the other Masters and I can agree to some kind of visitation where she can stay here for a time on a regular basis."

Taiyang stroked his chin stubble, thinking deeply. "Okay. Say I even believe _any_ of this. What if I say yes, and she _doesn't_ get a 'Keyblade'?"

"Then there won't be anything we can teach her," Kairi explained, "There is a ritual I could perform to make sure she gets a Keyblade before I leave today-"

"Today!?" Taiyang started to shout again. "You would leave with her today!?"

"N-no!" Kairi quickly recovered, "Even if I do the ritual, she won't get the Keyblade right away!"

"So what your saying is that if I agree, you will take Ruby to train her if she gets this 'Keyblade'," Taiyang put his thoughts together, "and if I say no, she might get a Keyblade anyway and then be carrying a power she doesn't know how to use?"

"That… is the heart of it, yes," Kairi nodded slowly.

"This..." Taiyang sighed, "This is just too big. Even if I believed you, I can't decide my daughter's future for her like this..."

"I understand," Kairi nodded, taking it as a rejection.

_But if it is all true…_ "Can you bring proof?" He asked.

Kairi paused. "I-I'm sure the other masters and I can come up with something," she told him, her hopes rising again.

"Bring proof, and then we'll talk," Taiyang laid down the law.

It was enough for Kairi, who smiled and nodded.

* * *

The Land of Departure was a brilliant place. Marble halls gilded with gold, it was a fantastic sight to see. Perhaps even more impressive than the sights was the people. The highest concentration of Keyblade wielders for a generation met in these halls, and two among them were engaged in an important conversation.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" Kairi asked Aqua.

"It is a difficult call..." Aqua noted, "We still don't know _everything_ about Keyblades, and I doubt we ever will. It is kind of a living weapon, after all. If your heart is telling you she'll get one because you Linked with her heart, then I don't see a reason to argue otherwise."

"It is rare to Link with someone so young..." Kairi nodded. "Princesses of Light, other Keyblade wielders, and world inhabitants who already have their own strength and skills are one thing. But a _five-year-old_ with nothing but a strange amount of magic power, especially in a world with no natural magic?"

Ventus, who had been listening in nearby, finally decided to speak up. "Well, _I_ think you did the right thing!" he called out cheerfully, "and if this 'Ruby' is half the girl you described, she'll want this! No questions asked!"

"We'll know in a few days," Aqua concluded for all of them. "Until then, I do believe congratulations are in order, _Master_ Kairi."

"Oh yeah!" Ventus picked up excitedly, "this 'Ruby' girl aside, you completed your mission! You totally passed the Mark of Mastery!"

Kairi found herself smiling at the new title. "Thank you, Master Aqua."

"You can still just call me Aqua, Kairi," the older Master reminded the new Master.

"Of course. I just… y'know..." Kairi smiled.

"Trust me, I do," Aqua smiled in turn.

"And so will I! Someday..." Ventus chirped.

The two girls gave Ventus a strange look, and all three soon began laughing.

Once the laughter had died down, Kairi still had one last question. "We still need to prove to Ruby's father that other worlds exist."

Aqua thought on that for a moment. "Considering we want to take his daughter for training, I believe we can make an exception to the World Order, just this once. I just need to borrow something from King Mickey."

* * *

After a few days to clear his head and process, Taiyang was wondering how he could ever _start_ to believe that Kairi girl's nonsense. _It's not like I haven't seen my share of strange things,_ he conceded. _And there was just… something about her. Something trustworthy. Like my heart wanted to believe her._

In the end, he did indeed inform Ruby of what Kairi said, though he made it clear the woman could also have been simply crazy. Ruby, however, seemed to believe in an instant, regardless of Taiyang's warnings.

"Look, if she brings proof of other worlds, and that's a big 'if', then we'll consider this," Taiyang told his youngest, "But you really need to understand how big this decision is. Your entire life could change in ways you can't take back."

"But I'd be helping people, right?" Ruby asked.

"You can help people as a huntress," Taiyang pointed out.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "But if I go with Kairi, I could help _way_ more people, right!? On a bunch o' worlds!"

Taiyang sighed. He didn't want to take this choice away from Ruby if it was all true, but he would be lying if he said he didn't hate the idea Ruby was so into this. "If she's even telling the truth, which she probably isn't. I mean, this is all way to crazy. I can't believe I listened to her at all..."

Ruby held her hand over her chest. She could feel something inside of her, a pulsing warmth that reminded her of Kairi. "She'll be here. I believe in her."

That conversation happened a few days ago, and Taiyang had been unsuccessful since in convincing Ruby that Kairi might be lying, and even less successful convincing her to say no even if Kairi was honest. Taiyang found himself hoping Kairi was truly crazy and would never return, and had a difficult time entertaining the thought that the girl would bring some irrefutable evidence of her truthfulness.0

With such disbelief in his heart, he was truly surprised when she house began shaking, accompanied by a sound resembling a high powered airship engine outside. He stepped outside and could only stare at what he saw. A large, mutli-colored airship hovering above his front yard. A flash came from the undercarriage, and out of the light stepped Kairi and another girl, this one dressed in simple blues and blacks with shingled armor on her forearms. The new girl's hair and eyes were both blue as well.

"My name is Master Aqua," the blue girl introduced herself to Taiyang.

"So..." Taiyang tore his gaze away from the craft, "you're another Keyblade Master?"

"That is correct," Aqua nodded, "and you are Taiyang Xiao Long, I assume?"

"Right..." Taiyang was getting distracted by the colorful ship once again. He quickly shook himself back to his senses. "Perhaps we should take this inside..."

The three entered the house, and Ruby came tearing out of the hallway. "Kairi!" she hugged the wielder's leg as she ran into her.

"Good to see you again, Ruby," Kairi smiled.

"So this is the little one?" Aqua knelt down to Ruby's eye level. "Hello. I'm Aqua, a fellow Keyblade Master."

"You have one too!?" Ruby's eyes shone, "Can I see it!?"

"Calm down, Rubes," Taiyang interrupted. "We have things to discuss first."

"Maybe later," Aqua promised. Soon, everyone in the house gathered in the dining area. Taiyang wasn't sure about letting his daughters sit in, but did so at Aqua's insistance.

"So..." Taiyang scratched his chin, "That airship outside is impressive, but it doesn't prove other worlds. Why didn't Kairi have it last time?"

"Keyblade wielders have their own way of traveling the worlds," Aqua answered, "She didn't have the Gummiship last time because she didn't need it."

"So why is it, the Gummiship you said? Why is it here now?" Taiyang continued.

"You want proof of other worlds," Kairi piped in, "What better proof than seeing it for yourself?"

Taiyang's eyes widened. "What about the 'World Order'?"

Aqua answered for him this time. "We've decided, given the situation, that we can bend the rules a little. Just this once. It will allow the three of you to see another world for yourself, see where Ruby will be training if you agree. You will also get to meet the other Masters that will be teaching her for yourself. And if you don't like what you see, you still have the option to refuse us after the trip."

"Three of us?" Taiyang asked.

"Yourself, Ruby, and your other daughter," Aqua answered. "We won't ask you to lie to her. Even if I wanted to, I imagine it would be very difficult. As her sister, her family, she deserves to know what's going on with Ruby as much as you do."

" _If_ you agree in the end, of course," Kairi quickly interjected, trying to keep Taiyang from feeling pressured.

"We get to see another world today!?" Ruby cried excitedly.

"Wait," Yang scratched her head, "does this all have to do with that stuff you've been talking to Ruby about?"

Things were getting crazier and crazier. Finally, Taiyang considered the possibility that this was all _too_ crazy to be a lie. Who could make this crap up? "So. The Land of Departure, right?"

"Right," Aqua nodded, "However, there is one more thing. You don't have to commit Ruby to us yet to see the Land of Departure, but there is something else you must commit to."

"The 'World Order'?" Taiyang astutely deduced.

"Right," Aqua confirmed, "you can't tell anyone about what you see today, nor can you tell anyone what Kairi has told you previously. And neither can Yang or Ruby. No matter how close someone is, or how much you trust them, you _must_ keep the secret."

"We can't tell anyone…?" Ruby said quietly. That was one rule she wasn't expecting.

"The World Order is the most important law for world travelers such as us Keyblade wielders," Kairi added to emphasize the point.

Taiyang rubbed the back of his head. "Well, the girls have a close uncle. He doesn't live with us, but he stops by regularly. What do I tell him about Ruby vanishing for months at a time?"

Aqua frowned, "I'm sorry, but I don't know. Not that I don't want to help, but I don't know enough about this world to invent a viable excuse."

"I can't tell just him?" Taiyang argued.

"I'm sorry, but a line has to drawn. If not here, then where does it end?" Aqua counter-argued. "You and your other daughter are Ruby's immediate family who actually live with her. Anyone more than that, cannot know."

"We'll help bounce ideas to create a story for Ruby's absence, if she does come to train with us," Kairi offered. "If she doesn't, then you don't have to worry about telling their uncle anything anyways."

"So I can't tell Uncle Qrow either…?" Ruby asked quietly.

Kairi moved to sit next to Ruby. "Imagine you had a weapon, a powerful one you could use to do so much good. But, you also knew that evil people could easily take advantage of that same weapon for their evil deeds."

"Most people across the worlds couldn't leave their own world even if they knew," Aqua explained, "But some people could. Through science, dedication, or by embracing dark powers. The more people that know, the higher likelihood that someone malevolent learns. And then _everyone_ is in trouble."

Kairi looked down into her hands. "The last time someone evil discovered worlds outside their own, she kidnapped me right off my home world, as well as six others from theirs, to try and use us to open a door to the ultimate light and take over _all_ worlds. None of the seven even knew of worlds outside their own before then. Even then, Maleficent's plan was hardly the worst plot we've had to put a stop to."

"So that's what I'd be doing," Ruby looked up to Kairi. "Protecting not just Remnant, but all worlds. Everyone." The little girl's resolved steeled over once again. "I wanna do it, dad!"

"All of this conversation is pointless if other worlds don't actually exist," Taiyang reminded her daughters. "Let's see this Land of Departure first before we do anything drastic."

"Then," Aqua stood, "I don't believe there is any reason to delay."

Taiyang readied his girls, locked up the house, and boarded the Gummiship with his family and the Keyblade Masters. The last bit of Taiyang's skepticism vanished as the Gummiship successfully left Remnant's atmosphere. Aqua raised her Keyblade to open a portal and they passed through it into a beautiful realm right out of a space movie.

"Welcome," Aqua offered, "to the Ocean Between."

"Woah..." Ruby stared out the window at the sea of stars.

"It will be a little while before we reach the Land of Departure by Gummiship," Kairi explained from the driver's seat.

Taiyang and his daughters were enraptured by the sight outside the glass. Aqua got Ruby's attention and ushered the girl to her side. She knelt beside her and pointed out the window. "Every single one of those stars is another world. As Keyblade wielders, it's our responsibility to protect all of them."

" _All_ of them?" Ruby breathed in awe. "There are so many? How do you protect all of them?"

"It's not an easy task," Aqua confessed. "Even if one dedicated themselves to travel, and only spent a few minutes in each world, I doubt even a fraction of them could be visited in a single lifetime."

"But that's no excuse to slack off," Kairi spoke up. "One person may not be able to do much. But, if _everyone_ does their part, peace would be far from a dream."

Ruby was not the only one soaking this information in. Yang stared at her sister and the people surrounding her, conflicting feelings swirling behind her eyes.


	3. Yang's Duty

Ruby was already mesmerized by the Land of Departure before they even disembarked from the Gummiship. The tall, shining towers of the castle, tall spires of rock chained together with massive gold links, and the general pristine aesthetic were like nothing the young girl had ever seen. Taiyang was enraptured as well, his vanishing skepticism making way for wonderment. Kairi and Aqua were smiling at their guests excitement.

The only person who wasn't outright excited was the older sister. She could feel excitement in her heart, but it was suppressed by other things. She simply followed her father, her face blank, as they left the Gummiship and met with three other Keyblade wielders.

The first, a tall man with brown hair spiked upwards, wearing a hakama and armor down one arm introduced himself as Master Terra. Next, a man with silver hair and more casual appearing clothing introduced himself as Master Riku. Finally, the youngest wielder with spiked blond hair with a looser, more over designed outfit introduced himself as Ventus.

"Just Ventus?" Taiyang asked, "Not Master?"

"Not yet, but soon!" Ventus replied optimistically.

Taiyang smiled at the boy's energy. "So, this is where Ruby would train?"

Aqua stepped forward. "Why don't we show you around?" she suggested, "I'm sure we would be more comfortable discussing things inside."

Yang trudged up the back, sticking close to her father as she followed the group inside the massive doors to the castle. The inside wasn't any less opulent than the outside, prompting stares of wonder from Ruby and Taiyang.

"It's been so long since I first saw this place, I forgot how grand it really is," Aqua noted as they ascended one of the many staircases.

"And I would live here too?" Ruby asked.

"If all goes well, yes," Kairi answered.

The way she said this caught Taiyang's attention. Now that he believed them, he started thinking into the situation as a whole a little more closely. "So, are we heading to a conference room or something?"

"The library," Terra answered, "it should more than suit our needs."

The library, perhaps expectedly, was no less impressive than the rest of the building. More books than Ruby and Yang had ever seen. Taiyang thought it would even give Beacon a run for its money. And given they were on another world, they likely contained a variety of subjects the three of them had never heard of. There were plenty of reading tables, and the group seated itself around one of the larger ones.

"So," Aqua spoke first, "what do you think of our little world here?"

"It's beautiful," Taiyang told her, "Just how many Keyblade wielders have passed through this place?"

"I wouldn't know," Aqua admitted, "Eraqus never talked much about anything before Terra and My time here."

"Eraqus is your master?" Taiyang asked.

Aqua, Terra and Ventus suddenly shared this sad look. "He _was_ our Master," Aqua corrected solemnly.

Taiyang caught on quickly. "Oh… I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Terra assured with a small smile. "He… was a great teacher. Till the very end."

A silence persisted. Taiyang eventually broke it, voicing his building concerns, "Is um… are the older Masters off with the other students somewhere? Like, on another world, or..."

Aqua sighed. She knew this would come up at some point, and wasn't looking forward to answering that question. "About that… there are other wielders off world, some on mission, others inactive as wielders. There's one other at master level, but the four of us here are the only official Masters currently."

"You see, there was a large threat not too long ago," Riku picked up, "Very large. It killed Master Eraqus, interrupted the cycle of Keyblade wielder training for over a decade, and nearly led to mass-scale destruction. Our 'Order', so to speak, was decimated. We're better off now than before, but still rebuilding."

"You may have noticed we seem a little eager to train Ruby," Kairi cut in. "She's actually the first prospect we've found since. Hopefully, by the time she's ready to start training, we'll have other students for her to train with."

Taiyang had begun to assume the situation was along those lines. "I do appreciate you being honest with me."

"It's important to us that you trust us," Terra admitted, "especially considering what we're asking."

The conversation continued on, and while Ruby hung on to every word, Yang began checking out. She eventually slipped out of her chair and began wandering the book shelves. It all was very incredible, she felt that. This morning she woke up in her normal bed in her normal house and had a normal routine. In the span of a few hours she was who knows how far away, on an entirely different world, learning about powerful warriors with mystical weapons.

But she also felt that this was all for Ruby's sake. She didn't know what she was doing here. They might as well have left her on Remnant with Uncle Qrow. _Who apparently can't know about any of this. Also for Ruby's sake…_

Yang idly grabbed a book of the shelf and flipped through a few pages. Something about an Age of Fairytales, a war over light, and the hearts of children, but she retained none of it. She was only going through the motions. She put that book back and took another down, still not really reading any of it. This cycle passed a few more times before being broken by Riku.

"There you are," the silver-haired Master caught her attention. "We noticed you had vanished. Is everything okay?"

Yang put her latest book back and responded, "I'm fine," in a very curt manner. She started walking away from Riku.

Riku quickly stepped around her front, getting on one knee to level his eye with hers. He had a little gold daimond in his hand. "Munny for your thoughts?"

Yang's curiosity got the better of her, and she picked up the little piece of metal. She turned it over in her hands. He called it 'money', but what shop accepts this?

"Well?" Riku asked, reminding Yang of the deal she just accidentally made.

Yang sighed, admitting defeat to herself. "I… don't know why I'm here."

Riku nodded. "Your wondering what makes your sister so special. Why don't you get a Keyblade, right?"

Yang looked away. She knew she shouldn't feel that way, that she should be happy for her sister. But Riku wasn't wrong.

Riku let himself shift backwards, sitting on the ground and resting his back against the bookshelf. "You know, I was jealous of my best friend once."

"But you have a Keyblade," Yang pointed out.

"It wasn't over the Keyblade," Riku countered. "This was way before that was in the picture. What I was jealous of was his heart."

"His heart?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. He was carefree, happy, and just… always seemed to know what was right," Riku explained. "I was stronger than him, faster than him. But somehow, I still never felt like I measured up. It led to a divide between us."

Yang sat next to Riku, still playing with the metal 'money' in her hand. "How did you get over it?"

"I didn't. I allowed that darkness fester in my heart," Riku answered, "and I made many mistakes. We ended up fighting, and after, I was lost in darkness. It was only after all of that, that I tried to atone. And _that_ took over a year for me to do. Don't make my mistake."

Yang thought over Riku's words. She definitely didn't want to fight Ruby. She loved her sister. And being 'lost in darkness' was both vague and frightening. But still, "I don't understand why I don't get a Keyblade. Can't you give me one?"

"Even the Inheritance Ceremony doesn't guarantee someone a Keyblade," Riku informed her. "It's a living weapon made from one's own light."

"I should have plenty of light?" Yang pressed.

Riku frowned, but decided to try something. Getting back up on one knee, he placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, closed his eyes, and tried to probe the young girl's heart. He felt plenty of light, yes, as well as conflict, which was no surprise given their conversation. But there was just _something_ missing. Riku opened his eyes.

Yang didn't have to ask, she just hung her head. "But why…?"

"Maybe because you have a different job to do?" Riku suggested.

"What job?" Yang asked.

"To be your sister's foundation," Riku explained.

"Her what?" Yang was confused.

"It's true that your sister is up for something amazing and powerful," Riku began, "but it's also a heavy and dangerous burden. There will be times when she doubts herself. When she falters. There may even be times where she risks losing herself to the darkness, like I did. If she does, it'll be your job to pull her back, get her on her feet, and push her forward. To remind her what she's trying to protect."

"So… She _won't_ be all powerful," Yang understood, "and it's my job to be strong for her when she's weak."

"Exactly," Riku smiled, "and that's just as important as fighting on the front lines, wouldn't you say?"

Yang thought for a moment and smiled.

"Yang!" Ruby's voice came from behind Yang, "Dad, I found Yang!" Ruby ran up to her blonde sister. She stopped a little short. "Hey, are you okay?"

Yang's smile widened and she drew Ruby into a deep hug. "Your going to be a great Keyblade wielder. And I promise, I'll be there for you if you ever need me."

Ruby hugged her sister back. "Thank you, Yang."

Yang noticed their father appear with everyone else. "She _is_ going to be a Keyblade wielder, right dad?" the blonde asked.

"That's up to Ruby," Taiyang told them.

"I wanna do it!" Ruby jumped in place.

"Ruby," Taiyang knelt down to Ruby's eye level, "you understand what this will mean right? If your Keyblade manifests, you'll be moving here, away from us. And Yang and I won't be able to just drop by and visit. You'll be training for something greater than yourself, but it's not without sacrifice."

"Huntsmen sacrifice too, right?" Ruby pointed out. "I want to protect people. And this way I'll protect more people! I wanna do it!"

Taiyang sighed. He didn't necessarily like her decision, but he still smiled at his daughter's bright spirit. _Maybe that's the 'heart's light' these people seem to hold dear._ "All right, Rubes. If this is what you want."

Yang watched while Ruby celebrated, this time with a smile. Feeling something in her hand, she looked down to see the 'money' Riku had given her. _If Ruby_ _forgets_ _her job, it's my job to_ _remind her_ _. That means I can't afford to forget my job._ Yang decided to mentally imprint this memory onto the small piece of metal. She closed her fist around it as she vowed to keep her promise.

* * *

A twelve year old Ruby landed hard on her back. A wooden practice sword fell from her grip as she caught her breath. After catching her breath, she continued to lie on the ground until a hand entered her vision. "C'mon, Rubes. How are you supposed to be an almighty space-cop if you can't stay on your feet?" Yang teased. Ruby groaned, taking her sister's hand hesitantly. Yang pulled the redhead to her feet.

The pair were in their backyard at home in Patch. Kairi had let Ruby borrow some beginner books from the Land of Departure. One of them was based on basic combat stances and techniques. After reading it, Ruby insisted Yang help her train. However, in recent months Yang could sense a hesitance from her sister whenever the blonde suggested they pick up the practice swords.

Yang idly fondled the munny she had put on a bracelet (she learned the proper spelling for the currency while helping Ruby through one of the books a few years ago), thinking about Ruby's current mental struggle. "Hey, let's take five, yeah?"

"Sure," Ruby grunted, stepping over the practice sword without a second thought toward it.

Yang picked it up for her. "You feelin' okay, Rubes?"

"Yeah," Ruby answered shortly, collapsing on one of the porch chairs by the back door.

"Ruby," Yang warned, "be honest."

Ruby sighed, hanging her head. "I just… is this all really worth it?"

"What do you mean?" Yang sat down next to her, "Everybody falls occasionally, don't let it get you down."

"It's not just that," Ruby told her.

"Then what?" Yang pressed. Ruby stayed quiet. "How am I supposed to be here for you if you don't talk? C'mon. C'moooooon." She grinned, "do I have to tickle it outta ya?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "Yang, no!"

"Yang, yes!" the blonde tackled her sister onto the ground and immediately targeted her sides. Ruby began laughing uncontrollably as Yang set to work. "C'mon, Ruby! C'mon! C'mon c'moc c'mon!"

"Hahahaha! Haha! Fine ha!" Ruby blurted out between fits of humor, "hahaha fine, fine, fine! Just let me goohohooohaaaa!"

Yang smirked in victory and backed off, leaving Ruby on the ground. She waited for her sister to regain her composure before pressing again. "So?"

Ruby sighed. "I just… why am I still doing all this? What if we're wrong?"

"Wrong about…?" Yang led on.

"The Keyblade!" Ruby finally vented. "What if we're all wrong!? What if I never really get one!? It's been seven _years_..."

"So I'm sure you're due any day now," Yang shrugged.

"I'm serrriousss!" Ruby whined.

"Alright, Ruby," Yang nodded. "Don't your books talk about the 'heart' all the time? The source of your light, where the Keyblade comes from, all that?"

"Yeahh…?" Ruby sat up.

"When's the last time you listened to your heart?" Yang asked. "Like, really listened? What does it say?"

"I don't know..." Ruby grumbled.

"Well, stop grumbling and listen to it!" Yang insisted.

She watched her sister think for a moment before closing her eyes and holding one hand over her chest. Yang could have sworn she saw a light underneath her sister's palm. Suddenly, Ruby stood and rushed inside the house.

Yang fondled the munny a bit more while she waited for Ruby to come back. And she knew Ruby was coming back. She had studied those books nearly as much as Ruby had, for any advantage she could use to help her sister. She still felt a pang of jealousy from time to time, knowing she would never experience any of what she read for herself. But she knew now there was no point in holding onto those feelings. She didn't care about being the savior of the world at large, as long as she was still important to her sister.

Ruby emerged from the house and opened one of the books onto the nearby patio table. "There's the position I'm trying to use… Okay, looking at this diagram, I think my stance isn't low enough. Maybe other, smaller things too." She picked up her practice sword, flourishing it with renewed energy. "Well, Yang? You ready to go? I won't be an almighty space-cop if I can't stay on my feet, right?"

"Too right, Ruby!" Yang smiled widely and picked up the other wooden blade. She may never get her own Keyblade, but she was beyond proud of the job she had.


	4. Dive to the Heart

Yang was nursing her muscles at the dining table with a smile on her face. She had successfully turned her sister's near surrender into one of their most intense training sessions. So much so, the redhead had gone straight to her room after to rest. Taiyang let them be and prepared dinner alone. As he cut the heat on the stove, he called out to his eldest, "Dinner's on! Go get your sister!"

"On it!" Yang hopped up from the table and skipped down the hallway. She reached Ruby room and entered quietly. She smiled. _Yup. Still sleepin'._

Yang approached slowly and poked her sister's shoulder. "Ruby, time for dinner. C'mon, get up."

Ruby didn't react. She poked again. Nothing. She shook Ruby's shoulder. Still no reaction. "Ruby?" Starting to become concerned, Yang examined her sister closely. She appeared to be asleep and nothing else, but why wasn't anything waking her? Did training tucker her out that much? _Is she going through a Keyblader thing?_

She decided to head back to her father and let him know. Aqua had given him a 'Gummiphone' so they could contact each other from across worlds at a moments notice. Maybe the Master could tell them whether or not this was normal before they started freaking out. "Dad! Something's happening!"

* * *

Ruby felt herself falling through a dark void. She had no idea how long she had been falling, or where she fell from. All she knew was she continued to fall. As her mind caught up to her situation, she began to tense. What was going on? Where was she?

_Don't be afraid._

Ruby would have flinched if she was able. She didn't hear a voice… It was like the words appeared in her head.

_Trust me._

Trust who, though?

_The only danger here comes from within._

Ruby suddenly felt a resistance in the air. She began to flip, completely reversing where her head and feet were. It wasn't until her feet made contact with the ground that she finally regained control of herself. Her eyes opened slowly, and what she saw only confused her more.

She was standing atop a massive spire in a pitch black void. The ground beneath her feet was made of thick stained glass, making an image of herself suspended ethereally to one side, the background image showing the towers of Beacon Academy. There were smaller portraits surrounding the image. She recognized Yang, but other two around Yang were unfamiliar. One was a platinum haired girl with a scar, and the other was a raven haired girl with a bow on her head.

"Who are they…?" Ruby asked quietly

_They are those connected to your heart, or those who will be. The people you are destined to meet._

"If I haven't connected to them yet, how can I see them here?" Ruby asked.

…

_Figures,_ Ruby thought, _my first serious question and no answer._

_The heart processes time differently._

"Differently…?" Ruby appreciated the answer, even if it was a little late. "Wait, if I'm supposed to see people I'm connected to, then where's Kairi?"

_One thing at a time. First, watch out!_

"Watch out!?" Ruby startled. Heartless Shadows began fading in from under the ground around her. "I thought this place wasn't dangerous?"

_The only danger here comes from within._

Ruby watched the monsters helplessly. "I… I don't have a weapon!"

_You have everything you need._

One of the Shadows jumped and attacked, knocking Ruby back and onto one knee.

_You just need to reach inside and take hold…_

The Shadow jumped again. Ruby desperately swung her fist. A flash of light momentarily blinded her. She opened her eyes cautiously and counted that there was one Shadow less before, and realized she never felt the heartless's second attack. She also realized she was holding something…

_You have gained the power to fight back._

Ruby was holding something resembling an elongated beam of light. It was weak and formless, but it was light none the less.

"It may be weak," Ruby pushed herself back to her feet, "but it's more than enough for these little Shadows!" Recalling her practice with Yang, Ruby lowered her stance, put one foot forward, and firmly held her weapon with both hands, the blade angled forward and upward.

The next shadow jumped, and Ruby was ready. She twisted the blade of light around for an upward slash, destroying it with ease. The next Shadow jumped from behind, and Ruby hopped out of the way. As the dark creature occupied the same space Ruby was once in, the redhead brought her weapon down through it.

The remaining two Shadows flattened themselves against the ground. All Ruby could do was wait until they resurfaced, watching them. She noticed a change in how one of them was moving, and focused on it as it moved behind her. Sure enough, it leapt out of the ground, and Ruby spun quickly to meet it with her blade. She refocused on the last heartless a moment later, watching for the same change in behavior.

She didn't have to wait long, and the second in started, Ruby began to rush it's position. Once she neared, she jumped and raised her weapon. The Shadow began it's rise and Ruby came back down with a heavy overhead swing. She cleaved the Shadow clean in half. Ruby watched it dissolve before her eyes as she caught her breath.

_Good job! You have taken the first step on the journey to come._

Ruby stood straight and noticed a door nearby. She did a double take and examined the entire platform. "That… wasn't there before… right?" Ruby neared the door cautiously, weapon ready, and opened it slowly. There was another flash of light. Once she could see again, she immediately noticed the ground.

The stained-glass image had changed. Ruby was still hovering to one side in the image, but the _opposite_ side this time, wearing an outfit Ruby herself was unfamiliar with. The background showed the castle at the Land of Departure. There were more portraits, this time being Kairi surrounded by three more people Ruby was apparently destined to meet. A girl with blue tipped hair and a black beanie, a girl with a short brown bob and dark red eyes, and a girl with long, braided red hair.

As she examined the new image, she noticed shadows moving across the ground toward the center of the arena. "Ugh, what now?"

_Don't be afraid. You have everything you need. Take hold of your light and defeat your darkness._

" _My_ darkness?" Ruby asked. She watched the darkness collect in the middle and begin rising out of the ground, taking a familiar humanoid shape.

_The only danger here comes from within._

Across from Ruby stood a pitch black version of herself, featureless except for round yellow eyes. The dark figure summoned a spike of darkness in it's hand that resembled Ruby's blade of light. It slowly assumed the same fighting stance Ruby had chosen for herself, prompting the real Ruby to so the same.

They ran at each other. Their runs, swings, and inevitable clash of blades were a mirror of each other. The blades held each other in place for a few moments until both parties pulled away. Ruby pushed the assault. Two strikes barely blocked by the dark blade, with a third locking the two swords together once again.

Anti-Ruby was in a stronger position for that clash, and managed to push the light blade away. Anti-Ruby brought it's blade back across Ruby's gut, knocking the girl back and onto her knee. Ruby grabbed her stomach with a wince. There was no physical damage to her clothing or skin, but that still _hurt_. Anti-Ruby brought her dark blade down from overhead. Ruby quickly brought her light blade up horizontally to block. Ruby supported the far end of her blade with her palm. Anti-Ruby pushed down, trying to break through Ruby's guard.

Ruby's light blade broke. It vanished into fading particles as the dark blade dropped right through Ruby's torso. Ruby fell completely to the floor, clutching herself in pain. "Damn it!"

_Don't give up!_

"My weapon is gone!"

_You haven't lost your light just yet!_

Ruby curled, watching her dark self raise their weapon above their head.

_Ruby!_

For a moment, time seemed to stop. That last one was different. Ruby could have sworn she actually heard a voice instead of the empty words in her mind. She could of sworn she heard…

_Dad! Something's happening!_

"Yang..."

Ruby suddenly looked up at her assailant with a fury in her eye. It began to bring down its blade, and Ruby kicked it's ankle. Anti-Ruby lost balance and began to fall. Ruby wound her arm, the blade of light reappeared in her fist, and she took a swing at her falling foe. Anti-Ruby was rocked to one side, and fell a good distance away from Ruby.

"C'mon, Rubes..." Ruby whispered to herself, "how are you supposed to be..."

She forced herself back on one knee.

"...an almighty space-cop..."

And pushed herself up until she was standing.

"If you can't stay on your feet!"

Ruby straightened herself out and turned to face her dark self. Anti-Ruby was slowly getting to it's feet as well. "I get it now," Ruby spoke clearly and confidently. "You're my darkness. You're my fear and doubt. Well guess what? I don't fear you anymore..." The redhead assumed her combat stance, " _and I am DONE doubting!_ "

Anti-Ruby's stance shifted and it's weapon fell an inch or two, looking as if Ruby's words alone had weakened it. It refused to let go so easily, and rushed Ruby. It's strike was easily reflected by Ruby, the redhead following up with a strike of her own. The strike didn't connect, but did knock the dark blade away and opened anti-Ruby to attack.

The opening was taken, and the light blade tore through anti-Ruby's torso. Anti-Ruby screeched inhumanly and swung its dark blade wildly. Ruby easily ducked under the swing. She spun to add momentum to her own follow up, and stood back up to _crack_ her light blade on anti-Ruby's face.

Anti-Ruby's feet completely left the ground and it began spinning through the air. It never hit the ground. Ruby stood straight as she watched her dark self spin once or twice before simply floating away on its back. It began to dissolve, revealing something bright inside. Once the darkness faded, all that was left of anti-Ruby was a little light that made up its core.

"That light feels similar to..." Ruby looked down at the blade of light still in her fist. Her eyes widened. She watched as the blade dissolved, the particles drawn into the light anti-Ruby had left behind. They fused together into a larger, stronger light.

_Congratulations!_

The voiceless words returned. Ruby nearly frowned, missing Yang's voice already.

_You will be returned to her soon. Now reach out, and take your prize._

Ruby eyed the light with caution. So far, she had only been attacked by things that manifested in this place. Speaking of, she never really learned _where_ this 'place' was. But she doubted the voiceless voice would answer now. _Anyway, I've only been attacked by dark things. The only light thing before now_ did _help me._

With this logic, Ruby reached out to the light, grabbing at it slowly. An energy exploded from the light. A persistent whirlwind of power emanating from it, pushing at Ruby, who was only held in place because her fist was locked within the brilliant orb. It slowly began to shift and change. A long shaft stretched outward with another beam of light winding around it. Other beams curved themselves around Ruby's hand.

How the light shifted beyond that was lost to Ruby. The light became to bright to look at, until one massive burst filled the entire void with white.

* * *

"How long has she been like this?"

"I don't know. She came up here right after the girls finished sparring in the backyard. A half an hour, at most?"

"And nothing will rouse her? Are you sure she isn't just sleeping heavily?"

"We wouldn't have called you if we hadn't tried everything. I even slapped her!"

"Yang!"

"What? She wasn't waking up, and she still didn't wake up! Nothing is… wait, are her eyes opening!?"

Ruby roused to the sound of three voices around her. She sat up before registering the people around her. Her sister, her father, and a face on the Gummiphone in her father's hand. "Dad? Yang? Aqua?" She tried hard to force her drowsy brain to lucidity. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Did something… did something happen, Ruby!? Gods!" Yang hugged her sister, "what happened to _you_!?"

"Yang," Aqua's cut her off, "let me talk to her."

Yang was tempted to give Aqua the stink eye, but thought better of it at the last second. She reluctantly pulled away as her father held the Gummiphone so Aqua could speak to Ruby. "It's good to see you, Ruby. How are you feeling?"

"Fine?" Ruby rubbed the back of her head, "Tired, I guess? Everyone's panicked… how long was I asleep?"

"Ruby, what is the last thing you remember?" Aqua asked, "the _very_ last thing, however strange it may be?"

"I mean, I remember training with Yang, then I was super tired and came up her to nap," Ruby explained.

"That's all?" Aqua pressed expectantly.

Ruby frowned, thinking. "Well… I guess I did have a weird dream. I was falling through a pitch-black place..."

"And you landed on a stained-glass floor," Aqua finished. It wasn't a question.

Ruby was taken aback. "...How did you know?"

"Maybe this," Yang spoke up, reaching for something on Ruby's bed, "has something to do with it all?"

Ruby turned and her jaw dropped. It was beautiful, clean and shining. Yang picked it up and held it out, and Ruby stood and stared at it, appreciating it.

Aqua was blind to the current development, but she didn't need to see for herself. "Let me guess. Her Keyblade, right?"

"Crescent Rose." The name appeared naturally on Ruby's tongue. The shaft and handguards were a solid black metal core visible between bright red plating. The brushed steel look of the weapon and various quirks of its shape gave off the appearance of a sniper rifle. In contrast to the look of cold steel, a thorned vine wrapped itself around the blade, climbing up to the very tip. There, it turned into a rose blossom to form the Keyblade's 'teeth'. Lastly, the keychain took shape of her own chosen icon, a burning rose.

"Crescent Rose, huh? Well, Rubes?" Yang held the weapon out.

Ruby's hand shook as her fingers closed around the Keyblade's handle. _Her_ Keyblade's handle. _I have a Keyblade. After seven years, I'm finally holding my own Keyblade with my own hand._ For a moment, all eyes were on the weapon. Silence permeated the air.

"Not to ruin a happy moment with possibly sour thoughts," Aqua broke the silence, "but you _do_ know what this means. Right, Taiyang?"

Taiyang brought the Gummiphone back up to look Aqua in the eye as he nodded slowly.

"It means I'm leaving," Ruby realized as well. Her eyes left her new Keyblade. The hand holding it dropped, both it and Crescent Rose hanging by her side. "I'm leaving to train. At the Land of Departure. I'm leaving home, leaving Remnant entirely..."

Aqua shared a look with Taiyang and pointed with her head. Taiyang understood, and moved the Gummiphone again so Aqua could speak with Ruby. "Are you having second thoughts?" she asked, "It's not too late to back out. We don't want to force you into something you don't want to do."

Ruby thought for a brief moment, and quickly shook her head. "I want to do this. I want to help people. It's what I've always wanted. If I gave this up over some selfish fear, I'd never forgive myself."

"The choice has always been yours," Aqua nodded.

Rather than turn the phone back only to turn it around once again, Taiyang re-positioned himself so that he and Ruby would both be on Aqua's screen. "So, how are we doing this?"

"It works out that Master Kairi is currently on an assignment. She'll be the one picking Ruby up, so that gives you a few days," Aqua explained, "I'll call you the day before she sets out for Remnant."

"Thank you..." Taiyang breathed, happy to have a little extra time to get used to the idea of Ruby leaving home.

"Ruby," Aqua looked to her, "as far as your Keyblade goes, the _only_ thing I want you practicing for now is summoning and dispelling it. Do not try to use magic, and do _not_ use it to spar. Crescent Rose will hurt your sister a lot more than a wooden practice sword. Do you understand?"

"Yeah… Uh, I mean!" Ruby cleared her throat, "I do, Master Aqua." Now that she finally had her Keyblade and was set to begin training, it felt right to call her teacher by her proper title. Perhaps unnecessary, but she wanted to prove how serious she was about all this.

"Taiyang, I'll speak to you in a few days. Ruby..." Aqua smiled, "congratulations." with that, she signed off.

Yang was the first to break the silence that followed. "So, how does it feel?"

Ruby looked down at her Keyblade once again, and smiled. "It feels like… I got something back that I never knew I was missing."

"So, um..." Taiyang rubbed the back of his neck, "Dinner is probably cold by now."

"Dinner?" Yang shook her head, "that's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Hey, can you blame me for craving a bit of… 'normal' for the next day or two?" Taiyang defended.

Yang was ready to make another joke, but the meaning behind Taiyang's word hit her. "You know what? No, I can't blame you," she admitted. "So. Dinner, Rubes?"

Ruby looked to her Keyblade and closed her eyes. She fiddled with her fingers and flicked her wrist a couple times, eventually managing to dispel Crescent Rose. It vanished with a flash of red light and the effect of rose petals. Her gaze returned to her family, and she smiled and nodded, "Dinner."

* * *

The last few days were a strange mix of emotions for the new Keyblade wielder. Her and her family were trying to ignore the fact that she would be leaving in a few days. At the same time, they were doing special things _because_ she would be leaving in a few days. Taiyang took the days off work to be home with his girls. They watched movies and went to all Ruby's favorite restaurants and diners. The night after Kairi called them about picking Ruby up, he made her favorite homemade dinner and even took a stab at Summer's strawberry cookie recipe.

Ruby woke up the next morning both anxious and excited. Yes she would be leaving home at twelve years old, but it was to study an ancient weapon on another world entirely! She quickly double checked her bag to make sure everything she needed was in there. It was, of course, seeing as she checked it three times the night before.

With nothing else to check, Ruby summoned her Keyblade. She had been taking a few minutes at a time to get used to the weapon, and she adjusting quickly. It was already second nature to call on and send away Crescent Rose. For a few moments she simply admired her Keyblade, still barely believing it was actually _hers_.

"Excited?" Yang asked from the doorway.

Ruby jumped in, having missed her sister enter the space. She dispelled Crescent Rose and smiled, "of course I am!"

"Just remember it might still be a while," Yang reminded her, "Kairi's still gotta get up, go through her morning routine, and travel here using the Gummiship before she can pick you up."

"I know," Ruby nodded. She followed Yang downstairs for breakfast.

Seeing Ruby packed and ready to go stirred something in Yang. For seven years, she had lived her life getting her sister better, to be ready for this. Now that it was all coming to pass, what was Yang going to do next? She always knew she would have to eventually decide a future for herself, but had always put off the thoughts and conversations with their dad. Now she was out of time and excuses.

It took until nearly noon for Kairi to arrive. The family was out in the backyard, soaking the sun together, when they saw a shadow pass by accompanied by the unmistakable sound of the Gummiship engines. Ruby dashed inside to grab her bag while Taiyang went out front to meet Kairi.

"So the day has come," Taiyang greeted her.

"Yep!" Kairi seemed as excited as Ruby, but didn't miss Taiyang's mood. "We'll take good care of her, I promise. In fact, can I see your Gummiphone?"

Taiyang handed it over and watched Kairi enter something into it before handing it back. "What's new?"

"The contact information for another Gummiphone, the one we'll be giving Ruby," Kairi told him. "Obviously she won't be able to pick up all the time, but this should help you keep in touch with your daughter, without needing to middle-man through one of us."

Taiyang pocketed the device, a smile growing on his face. "Thank you," he offered sincerely.

Kairi nodded. "After we have a few weeks to work out Ruby's training schedule, Aqua or I will contact you about working regular visits home into Ruby's routine as well."

"Thank you," Taiyang offered again, "for everything. Seriously, you probably could have offered only half of these accommodations and I wouldn't have had a problem with it."

"It is for Ruby's sake as well," Kairi explained, "we wouldn't want her losing connection with the important people in her life. That's just not healthy."

"And the fact that you're thinking of her well-being proves I can trust you with her." Taiyang had a chuckle, "I just hope she doesn't give you too much trouble in the long run."

"Kairi!" Ruby appeared, apparently having run downstairs based on her shortness of breath.

"It's good to see you, Ruby. Are you ready?" Kairi gestured to the ship.

Ruby took a few steps forward, but stopped quickly. She turned to face her family, dropped her bag and ran back to them to pull them both into a large hug. "I'm going to miss both of you. I'll do everything I can to visit as soon as possible. I promise." She squeezed them the best her twelve-year-old muscles could and let go to take a step back. "I love you."

"We love you too," Taiyang managed a smile for his daughter's sake.

"Be good, Rubes," Yang ruffled her sister's hair, "you'll do great."

Ruby picked her bag back up and boarded the Gummiship with Kairi in a flash of light. As the ship flew up and out of the atmosphere, Yang's thoughts returned once again on what was next for her. For the last seven years she had stuck with Ruby, making her stronger and trying to fulfill the job Riku had given her to the best of her ability. And while she felt she had done a good job until now, everything was about to change.

While it was just the two of them, in the backyard with wooden swords, they had easily kept pace with each other and grown together. And while 'sparring partner' wasn't exactly one of her implied duties as Ruby's foundation, she felt like the other things were easier when her and Ruby were on the same level physically. Now Ruby was off to learn more mystical abilities, things Yang could never learn herself.

Yang idly fondled her munny. She knew she had to stay strong. Keeping up with Ruby may be a pipe dream now, but Yang had to try. She had to get as strong as she could be. And on Remnant, there was only one way she could do that. "Dad?"

"Yeah, firecracker?"

"I know I'm a bit late, but… do you think I could manage to get into Signal?"

Taiyang sighed with a smile, wrapping one arm around Yang's shoulders. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Thanks, dad..." Yang leaned into her father's embrace.

Up in the Gummiship, Kairi turned away from the controls for a moment to speak to Ruby in the seat behind her. "Are you excited?"

Ruby 's smile was a mile wide. "Yeah! I wonder what I'll learn first? Magic is probably a little ways off. Probably basic combat stuff. But I've already done a ton of sparring with Yang! But I guess sparring while looking at diagrams in a book isn't _really_ a substitute for formal training huh? Oh! Didn't you say I was your first 'prospect'? Have you found other students yet? Will I have classmates!?"

Kairi couldn't help but giggle at Ruby's frantic energy. She could tell already that teaching her was going to be a joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This concludes what has essentially been a four-part prologue. I probably could have easily began this story with the next chapter, but I really wanted to explore how Ruby got her Keyblade within the story itself without resorting to flashbacks or explanation dumps. Next up, we jump to the beginning of the story the synopsis actually describes! I hope you all continue to enjoy it!


	5. Remnant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In an effort to answer certain questions thrown my way from multiple people as quickly and concisely as possible...
> 
> First and foremost, Sora, Master of Masters, Luxu and the Masters (which sounds like a boy band now that I write it out) and silver eyes will not feature in this story.
> 
> Any references to Sora will remain as such, references. Timeline wise, you can assume KH3 has passed and beyond to the point where everyone is safe and happy. The lack of direct Sora and the others is simply because I don't know what the canon will be and I don't care to use this story guess. Plot wise, I will follow RWBY plot for a bit while trying to build toward a more 'original' story.
> 
> The lack of silver eyes is just because I don't like them. That's all I can say without devolving into a rant and this is not the place for that.
> 
> Any other characters or concepts are either planned to appear already or I'm on the fence about it. It's probably best to assume something won't appear unless it appears.
> 
> I hope this clears things up for anyone wondering! I hope you all continue to read and continue to enjoy!

Blake Belladonna was strolling down the beach well after sundown. She had passed the physical exam to enter Beacon with flying colors. She was sure she had earned her spot, even without a record from one of the preparatory Combat Schools. But until Beacon actually started the next week, she didn't have a place to stay. Hence, the nighttime stroll as she racked her brain for an idea that didn't involve thievery or cardboard boxes.

Blake sighed, raising her head to look at the stars. "Huh, a shooting star. I guess I should make a wish..." She watched the white streak fall slowly across the sky. She was quickly distracted from making her 'wish' when she realized the streak was getting bigger. And bigger. _And bigger._

"Oh, brothers..." Blake's eyes widened in realization. Was she really about to witness a meteor strike firsthand? How big was it going to be? How much damage would it do? _Should I be running away!?_ She was frozen, watching it fall. As it got closer, it looked small. On top of that, it seemed to be falling straight down into the ocean. A sigh of relief escaped her lips.

Her relief was short lived. Against all known laws of physics, the 'meteorite' took a sharp turn and started flying parallel to the water. "What the f-!" Blake was cut off when the bright light finally broke the ocean's surface mere feet from the shore. It seemed to explode as it landed, drenching the beach in both water and a brilliant white light.

Blake opened her eyes again, and what she saw only confused her further. There was no crater, no apparent damage of any kind… but there was a girl. Fifteen at most, with dark red hair and unusual clothing.

She wore a simple black dress with a short skirt, short sleeves and a tall neck. Over that she had a sleeveless black and red jacket the hung just above where her skirt ended. A simple black corset added yet another layer across her midriff, and a red hooded cape hung from her shoulders. Black tights covered the part of her legs that would have been exposed otherwise. Her boots went as high as her knees and appeared armored, though Blake herself couldn't identify the material. Her right hand was covered with a long black glove with red padding on the back face. Her left left hand sported a vambrace made of the same strange armor as her boots, though the forearm plate was cracked.

Blake was no longer certain she wasn't passed out somewhere on the beach and already dreaming. Had this girl really fallen from the sky? She tried shaking the girl to see if she was still alive. Silver eyes opened slowly…

* * *

Ruby woke up to a stranger standing over her. A girl with a tailed black vest over a white sleeveless top, black stockings over white shorts and ankle boots. There were ribbons down both of her arms, and a bow atop her long black hair. The look in her eyes told Ruby this girl probably saw something that would be very difficult to explain.

_Ruby run!_

_I got you, Rubes! We've got to get away!_

_How!?_

_Ruby!_

_Chloe!_

_Master Kairi!_

_Follow your heart and stay safe._

_KAIRI!_

The memories rushed back. Ruby jumped to her feet in a sudden panic, looking up at the sky, instantly oblivious to the other girl. She slammed her hand down on her vambrace, the switch for her Keyblade Armor. Her armor didn't summon. She looked down and saw the large crack in the plate, as well as several hairline fractures on the switch itself. She pressed it a few more times to confirm. "No… no no no..." she stared checking her pockets for her Gummiphone. To no avail. "No no NO!"

"Is something wrong?" the black haired girl asked.

Ruby began venting without any thought to how it would all sound to a stranger. "Without my Gummiphone, I can't contact anyone! Without my armor or a Gummiship I can't leave! I… I don't even know how I escaped. I was never taught another way to travel!" She paced a bit more, racking her brain for a solution. _How did I even escape?_

The last moments of the chaos entered her mind. _What was that? How did I do that? Maybe I can do it again..._ She summoned her Keyblade, not noticing how the sudden flash of light made the stranger jump. Ruby aimed Crescent Rose straight in the air and tried to summon whatever power she was able to use before. For a brief moment she thought there might have been a glow on the tip, but in her state of mind she couldn't be sure it wasn't wishful thinking. Especially since after nearly a minute, she was still on the beach.

"Am I… really trapped here?" Ruby collapsed, seating on the ground with her feet behind her and both hands still around the Keyblade now resting its tip on the sand.

The stranger behind her shifted uneasily. This girl was clearly crazy, but she was also genuinely shocked and afraid. Against her better judgment, she asked, "Did something happen?"

"It's gone..." Ruby spoke absentmindedly, "Everyone vanished… I don't even know if anyone's still..."

A white device with a golden button on it entered Ruby's view. She followed the hand holding it to the stranger who woke her. "You can use it, if there's anyone you want to call," the stranger offered.

Ruby looked to the device again, deducing it was likely a standard communications device for whatever world she landed on. "It doesn't have the range I need," Ruby lamented, mostly to herself. She slowly stood, dispelling Crescent Rose. "Thanks for waking me up. Sorry you had to deal with… me." Ruby turned her back on the girl and began to walk away. The girl didn't follow.

Ruby didn't know what to do. She wanted nothing more than to race back to the Land of Departure, find her Masters and her friends, and figure out what the hell had even happened. Perhaps put a stop to it to boot. But her method of world travel was useless without her armor to protect her. The armor itself was self healing, being made of similar light to the Keyblade itself. But the switch being broken? That was something new to the redheaded wielder, and she didn't know how to fix _that_.

It took everything not to simply break down. She was helpless, stranded, and possibly lost. _Possibly…_ the buildings around did have a familiar air. She had been to many worlds already in her training, so perhaps she was somewhere she had been before. "Breaking down won't help _anyone_. Me included. It may not be much help, but figuring out where I am will at least give me something to do."

With that logic in mind, she walked into the city proper and began wandering the streets, looking for anything she could recognize. "San Fransokyo, maybe? Buildings are tall enough, but I don't see the flying wind generators..." She finally spotted a light, one of the few stores open this late. The sign above the door read 'From Dust 'Til Dawn'. _Wait, Dust? As in…_

Ruby jogged to the shop and stepped inside. She was greeted by an old man behind the counter, and nodded back at him as she examined the shelves. Crystals, brimming with power, and jars of powderized crystals as well. "This _is_ Dust… which means I'm home. I'm on Remnant. And if I'm on Remnant, then-"

"Finally! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust store open this late?"

"Please, just take my lien and leave..."

Ruby caught the fearful tone of the shop owner, and took cover behind one of the of the shelves. She peeked out to see a man in a white coat and bowler hat ordering a bunch of black-suited goons around.

"Calm down, we're not here for your money..." Bowler-Hat man told the shopkeeper. He then turned to his men, "grab the Dust."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. Her own worries were temporarily forgotten. She knew she couldn't let this happen. But if she was going to fight, she didn't want to do it inside the shop… She spotted a goon keeping watch by the window, and had an idea. Crescent Rose appeared in her hand. She dashed at one wall, turning the momentum into Flowmotion energy, and leapt off. Bowler-Hat watched a red glow tackle his man right through the window.

Ruby's momentum easily carried her and the goon well into the street. She separated the two of them with a swing of her Keyblade, slamming the man into the pavement and sending her up into the air. She flipped slowly to land on her feet, ready to fight. A moment passed before the man in charge ordered the rest of the goons to 'get her'.

_I can take these guys without magic,_ Ruby smirked, running forward to meet the first guy. He swung downward. Ruby side-stepped the attack and followed with three strikes, right, left, and up. One goon down, she honed in on the next and used a Sliding Dash to close the distance. Once in front of him, she launched him into the air and chased him with a spinning jump, the Ariel Sweep. That goon was done for, and the next was conveniently below her. She came down on top of him with a heavy downward strike, then struck him one more time for good measure. One last goon was still standing after that. Ruby threw her Keyblade into a backhanded position and launched herself forward, moving impossibly fast through the last goon and dropping him with the single attack.

_Zantetsuken_

Bowler-Hat watched this little girl tear through his men with a distant sigh. "You were worth every cent, truly..." He stepped outside and stared Ruby down, "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around," he raised his cane and the end popped open, "I'm afraid _this_ is where we part ways." A fireball blasted out of the end of his cane, straight toward Ruby.

" _Reflect!_ "

The fireball exploded against Ruby's shield, blinding her until the smoke cleared. Once she could see, she saw Bowler-Hat climbing a ladder up to a rooftop nearby. She spared a glance at the shopkeeper, "You okay?" The shopkeeper nodded, and Ruby pursued her quarry.

Bowler-Hat reached the top of the ladder as a shape passed by him. Once he was standing on the roof, he noticed Ruby was already there. He looked down to the street, then to the ladder, and back to Ruby. "Did you just… run up a brick wall?" Ruby's only response was to enter her combat stance. She heard an airship appear behind her, and Bowler-Hat smirked. "My ride is here! Now, if you would be so kind as to step out of the way..." he raised his cane once more, "we can avoid further unpleasantness."

"Blizzard!"

Ruby fired a blast of ice out of Crescent Rose, directed at her opponents weapon. It landed before Bowler-Hat could open the cap of his cane again, and froze it shut. "What in the world!?"

"I'm not getting shot at again," Ruby smirked. She ran at him, Keyblade raised, pushing Bowler-Hat onto the defensive. His cane didn't do much to defend against Crescent Rose. Her first swing easily knocked it aside and opened him for the next two. She put herself into a short spin to add momentum to an overhead finisher. Bowler-Hat was planted cleanly onto the ground. Ruby leveled Crescent Rose to his face, "you're not getting away."

"Not so easily, it seems..." Bowler-Hat seemed to admit defeat. Until he pointed the business end of his weapon at Ruby, still sealed in ice.

_He wouldn't…_

He pulled the trigger. The cane exploded. Ruby was launched several feet away. Her Keyblade clattering across the ground beside her before vanishing. Bowler-Hat scrambled to his feet and ran to the buildings edge to meet the repositioning airship. Ruby jumped to her feet just as quickly, re-summoning Crescent Rose to her hand. _He's not getting away!_

"Fira!" The fireball traveled in an arc toward Bowler-Hat, landing just behind him. He was blasted through the air, barely managing to catch himself on the airship by his arms and torso. His upper body was within the airship while his legs dangled outside it. "Thunder!" she called down lightning to strike the airship.

The brief moment of electrified metal made Bowler-Hat lose his grip. He caught himself with a single hand and was now hanging from the airship entirely. "I NEED HELP!" The airship started to lift into the air as his last hand began to slip. "WHY ARE YOU TAKING OFF!? HELP ME!" His cries went unheard by his partner, who continued to pilot the airship away with little regard to him. His fingers gave out, and he fell.

Ruby watched him fall with horror. The distance to the ground would be sure to kill him. Not wanting that, she quickly raised her Kayblade once more, "Mag-!" Before she could finish her spell, however,, a purple energy enveloped Bowler-Hat and stopped his fall. "...Neh-huh?"

Feeling a presence behind her, Ruby turned to see an adult woman with light blonde hair, professional clothing and a stern look on her face. She held out a riding crop emitting the same purple energies. "Telekinesis?"

"My semblance," she answered while adjusting her glasses. She hovered Bowler-Hat back to the roof, keeping him trapped with her power.

_Semblances, right. I actually forgot about those. I wonder if he had one? He didn't use anything special in the fight… oh, shoot, the airship!_

Ruby spun back around, scanning the sky for the craft. She barely caught sight of the tail end vanishing behind distant buildings. " _Sigh_ … well, I still stopped the robbery, _and_ I know where I am now." Satisfied, she dispelled Crescent Rose and hastily made for the ladder.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Huh?" Ruby stopped short and turned to face the stern woman, "me?"

"Yes, you," she answered, "you don't really think you can just run away?"

"Umm… yes?"

* * *

'Yes' was apparently the wrong answer. After getting chewed out by the older woman, Ruby was practically dragged to a nearby police station and placed in one of the dark questioning rooms. Not that anyone could stop her from walking out. Even if the doors were locked, unlocking doors was a first-week kind of lesson for Keyblade wielders. However, she wasn't handcuffed and there didn't seem to be charges against her. _They probably just want a statement._ Ruby decided not to cause unnecessary issues unless she was certain they weren't letting her go. Despite this, her leg bounced impatiently.

The door finally opened, and in walked the blonde woman. She walked up to the table, set down some screened device, and stared daggers at the young redhead. "I hope you understand your actions will not be taken lightly."

"Am I getting arrested?" Ruby asked, really hoping she didn't have to break out of jail on her home world.

"No," the woman admitted, "but you put yourself and others in great danger tonight."

"Did I?" Ruby genuinely asked. "I don't remember there being other people around… and I thought I kept the fight pretty well contained..."

The woman was surprised. _I assumed she didn't even think about these things… most amateur fighters don't…_ "Have you done this sort of thing before?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Ruby spoke freely, too impatient to watch her words.

"Really?" the woman was surprised again, "we couldn't find any records, not even basic information."

"Oh, well..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head, realizing her mistake, "that was the first time I've done anything _here_. Kinda… new to town."

"If not here, then where?" the blonde woman asked.

"Um… Far away," Ruby dodged.

"Far away _where_?" The woman pressed.

" _Very_ far away," Ruby stood her ground. _World Order makes things really difficult sometimes… though would she really believe me if I_ could _tell her?_

The woman looked like she was about to press further, but was cut off when the device she set down earlier beeped at her. She sighed, "All that aside, there is someone here who wishes to speak to you."

Ruby frowned. _I just want to get out of here, what else do they need from me?_

The woman walked to the door and let in someone else. A man, hair aged silver, and wearing a green suit. He sat down across from Ruby at the table and looked into her eyes. "Good evening," he greeted cordially.

"Um, hello?" Ruby greeted back.

"There's no need to be so tense," the man assured Ruby, "I simply wanted to know where you learned to fight like _this_." He pushed the screened device forward, which was playing a recording of her fight.

Ruby was trying to split the difference between World Order, and _not_ saying something that would only lead to more questions. This resulted in her responding with a question of her own, "Why?"

"I assure you, I have no hostile intent," the man turned the screen off and put the device away. "I am simply impressed by your skill."

"Um, thank you?" Ruby still wasn't sure how to take this conversation.

"So, tell me…" the man carried on, undeterred, "what is an adorable girl like you doing stopping robberies in the dead of night?"

"I was there, I could stop it. So I did," she answered simply.

"You know, I wish more of my new students had even half your skill and moral drive," the man told her offhand.

Ruby didn't know what that had to do with her. "Can I go yet?"

The man and woman across from her shared a look. "Do you know who I am?"

Ruby flinched. She had been engrossed with the Keyblade since a young age, and spent the last three years training off-world. This situation emphasized to her how much of a stranger she had become to her own home. "Should I?"

If the answer surprised him, he didn't show it. He simply introduced himself, "My name is Professor Ozpin, Headmaster to Beacon Academy. This is my close friend and Deputy Headmistress, Professor Glynda Goodwitch."

"Beacon..." _Why does that name sound familiar?_ "Oh, the Huntsmen Academy!"

"The very same," Ozpin nodded. "Have you ever considered making 'helping people' a proper career?"

Ruby was taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"

Ozpin sighed with clear amusement. "In an effort to remove as much pain as possible from this conversation, I shall be blunt. I want to offer you a spot at my school."

"Ozpin..." Glynda warned.

The Headmaster ignored her, still looking Ruby in the eye. "Well?"

"Oh. Ohhh..." Ruby's eyes widened. _This might get awkward._ "I'm sorry, but… I can't."

Ozpin almost let surprise break through his facade. Almost. Glynda, on the other hand, was all too happy to display what she felt. "At least _someone_ in this room besides me has a modicum of sense."

"Are you certain?" Ozpin asked, "This is a once in a lifetime chance. You could be the youngest huntress in history."

"I'm sorry, but I have other things going on," Ruby deflected, "I can't promise you four years of my life."

"I see," Ozpin nodded. He hid the fact that this wasn't quite the outcome he wanted well. He pulled out a card and handed it across the table. "Should you change your mind before the school year begins, don't hesitate to contact us."

Ruby took the card, though mostly to be polite and end this conversation sooner. "Thank you. Does this mean I can go now?"

"You may. There is more than enough dirt already on the man you helped arrest without your statement," Ozpin nodded.

"Thank you," Ruby nodded and stood up.

"Although, may I at least ask for your name?" Ozpin stood and held out his hand.

"Right..." Ruby shook the headmaster's hand, "Ruby Rose."

"It is a pleasure to have met you, Ruby Rose." Ozpin smiled fondly and stepped aside to let her go.

Glynda watched her leave with a pleasant surprise in her eye. "When I ran into her, I assumed she was acting brashly. But perhaps she has a better head on her shoulders than I was giving her credit for. I mean, really Ozpin, she's barely more than a child."

"She is only two years under our usual students," Ozpin defended.

"And you _know_ that even a month can make all the difference," Glynda countered.

"But you have to admit, she displayed more skill tonight than a sad percentage of this year's new crop," Ozpin pointed out.

"Perhaps… still, it doesn't mean much if she doesn't agree. And, quite frankly, I think she made the right choice."

Ozpin pulled his tablet back out, watching Ruby's video once again. "Rose. I wonder..."

* * *

Outside the police station, Ruby was focusing herself. It wasn't a lie when she said she had other things to do. Now that she knew she was on Remnant she had options, or rather _one_ option. Her father had a Gummiphone. Maybe, _just maybe_ , there was someone on the other end capable of picking up. She just had to get home, which wouldn't be hard. She may not have her armor, but she didn't need it to travel if she wasn't leaving the world.

Ruby peeked at the sign for the police station to confirm the last piece of information she needed before taking off. _Vale Precinct 12_. She would smile if she weren't so anxious. From Vale she would be in Patch in no time. She returned to the beach, needing a place no one would see her for what was next.

While running along the beach shore, she summoned Crescent Rose and threw it ahead. It spun into the distance, before a bright flash enveloped it. Ruby jumped on the shape that returned, her Keyblade Glider. It had two small platforms side-by-side, one for each foot, and sharp wings resembling blades that stretched out to each side, all metallic black and red. With her Glider, she was able to fly across the water at her leisure and head home.

_I only hope someone can answer, because I don't know what I'll do otherwise… I don't know what I_ could _do otherwise..._


	6. Stranded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I know /someone/ is bound to ask, Salem and the relics have been added to the list of things not featuring in this story. I can't bring this up in-story because they just don't exist in this AU.

The closer Ruby got to her family's cabin, the less patient she became. She didn't dispel her glider until she was inside the front gate, nearly crashing into the door in the process. She grabbed for the door and found it locked. _Of course it's locked, its past frickin' midnight!_ Ruby used her Keyblade to open the door, without any thought to the fact she was breaking into her own house. "Dad! Dad!" Ruby ran back to her father's room, shouting for him all the while. "DAD!"

Taiyang woke up quickly, but groggily.

"Dad, I need the Gummiphone!" Ruby cried.

"Ruby...?" Taiyang shook the cobwebs from his head, and his brain registered the situation. "Ruby!? What are you doing here?"

"I need to use your Gummiphone!" Ruby repeated.

Taiyang sat up, noticing his daughter's panic. "Did something happen? What's going on?"

"Please!" Ruby insisted.

Taiyang frowned and fumbled open his bedside drawer. The Gummiphone inside was snatched by Ruby before he could even reach for it. He watched his youngest desperately flick through the contacts. She started making calls, watching the screen intently. "Ruby, what's going on?"

Ruby didn't hear her father. She started making call after call. _Someone pick up, please… Kairi, Aqua, Riku, someone!_

Yang entered the room, looking between Ruby and Taiyang. She turned to their father, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Taiyang admitted.

"Someone _has_ to pick up..." Ruby muttered quietly. She stared at the device in her hand as another call went unanswered. "… they _have_ to..."

Yang approached her sister and slowly took the Gummiphone from her hand. With her free hand, Yang took Ruby's arm and gently pulled her away. "Let's get you to the kitchen. You can sit down and I'll make cocoa, okay?" Ruby was quiet and followed her sister absentmindedly.

A few minutes later Ruby was seated at the dining table, her dad sitting across from her while Yang hovered by the kettle. Taiyang spoke first, "First things first… are _you_ hurt?"

Ruby slowly shook her head. "Nothing a Cure won't heal."

"So… what happened?" Taiyang asked cautiously.

Ruby's head drooped. "The heartless attacked the Land of Departure."

"What!?" Yang practically shouted in surprise, "I thought that place was, like, super protected!"

"It's supposed to be," Ruby agreed. "Maybe… maybe it's just because there were so many of us..."

Taiyang's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Ruby searched for where to start. "Tomorrow was going to be a big deal. One of my class of trainees was supposed to take her Mark of Mastery, and there was no way she was going to fail. It would have been the first wielder recruited and trained to Master since they started rebuilding."

"They mentioned something about that back when they scouted Ruby, didn't they?" Yang recalled foggily.

"Everyone showed up, even the inactive wielders from Twilight Town," Ruby explained. "Master Aqua said something like, it was the most wielders together at the Land of Departure since even before she was training. Maybe there was just so much light there it attracted heartless powerful enough to break our defenses."

Yang came into the dining room with Ruby's cocoa, setting it in front of the girl. "So, um… You don't have to answer, but… what happened to everyone else?"

Yang flinched once her sister's eyes began to water. "I… I don't know," Ruby admitted. "I didn't see them fall… and I woke up alone on the beach in Vale."

Taiyang scratched his chin in thought. "Maybe they all woke up on their own home worlds, like you woke up on yours?"

"Or they followed the Land of Departure as it fell into the Dark Realm..." Ruby mentioned cryptically. "And even if I knew how to get into the Realm of Darkness, my armor..." she looked down at her broken vambrace.

"So what can you do?" Yang asked.

"I have no idea..." Ruby's head finally dropped right onto the table. "I was hoping... someone would answer... the Gummiphone... but..."

They waited for a moment as Ruby became quiet. "But…?" Yang asked to no response. Then she heard light snoring. "Rubes?" The worn out wielder was fast asleep.

"I guess she's been through a lot," Taiyang nodded. "Take her to her room and get some sleep yourself. I'll stay up and watch the Gummiphone, just in case."

Yang nodded, giving him the device before picking up her sister. Taiyang grabbed Ruby's untouched cocoa hoping the sugar would help him stay awake for at least an hour or two.

* * *

Ozpin and Glynda returned to the former's office at Beacon. The Headmaster turned to his associate. "Glynda, do you remember team STRQ?"

The question caught Glynda's attention. "How could I forget? With Qrow and Raven as your agents, at least until Raven ran off back to her bandit tribe. Not to mention what happened to poor Sum-" her eyes widened. "Summer!"

"Precisely," Ozpin nodded. He sat at his desk and began to access Vale's public database. "Summer _Rose_."

Glynda shook her head, "You don't think..."

Ozpin answered by pulling up Summer Rose's file. "She had a daughter, about fifteen years ago. A daughter she named..." He read the file, confirming his suspicions. "Ruby Rose."

"Taiyang still lives in Patch, correct? Yang will be here this year..." Glynda looked over the information. "Why would Ruby tell us she's from 'far away'?"

Ozpin used Summer's file to navigate to Ruby's. The girl had less than a handful of publicly available records. Ozpin's access as Headmaster of a Huntsmen Academy allowed him to view everything, but even then it wasn't much. Ruby was never enrolled in Combat Schools like Signal, and although she was in standard education until she was twelve, she was pulled before her last year even ended. After that, there were no records at all. No schooling, working or traveling… it was like she vanished off the face of Remnant.

 _And then she reappears, quite out of the blue, with fighting skill rivaling a Beacon third-year._ "Perhaps Taiyang could enlighten me..."

Glynda overheard Ozpin and frowned. "You're not calling Taiyang over Ruby joining Beacon, are you? I admit her records paint an interesting picture, but I still think you're blowing things out of proportion."

Ozpin thought for a moment before bringing up the recording of Ruby's fight. He set it to the room hologram to blow up the image. "Watch, and tell me what you see."

Glynda rolled her eyes, but humored Ozpin. In her experience, he was usually right about things. Not that that stopped her from arguing. She sat through the entire recording from the street fight to the girl's impressive use of Dust on the rooftop. "I see the same thing I saw before, an incredibly talented but still very _young_ girl."

Ozpin paused the playback at video-Ruby launching a fireball. "I see _that…_ and I think about the girl I met. What she had, what she _did_. I see _that_ ," he pointed at the fireball again, "and I know, that has nothing to do with Dust."

Glynda scoffed, "How else could she possibly-" She cut herself off as she saw the look on Ozpin's face. "You're serious."

"Always," Ozpin confirmed. "That, Glynda, is magic if I've ever seen it."

"You don't think _she_ attacked Amber?" Glynda asked.

"She's far too skilled to be new to her power," Ozpin deduced. "And she also doesn't strike me as a villainous type. No, I think this is something else. But that doesn't mean we can't be careful. She could be dangerous if she were captured by our enemies."

"And that's why you want her at Beacon so badly," Glynda understood, "to keep an eye on her, protect her if need be."

"And learn," Ozpin added, "I don't know how she could possibly have magic, and that alone is concerning. The method may also be available to our enemies. I'm going to call Taiyang tomorrow, and if nothing else, perhaps I can glean some information that fills the gap in her record."

* * *

 _The Shadows were everywhere, teeming from cracks in the once opulent courtyard ground. Ruby did her best to fight them off, but they seemed stronger than the Shadows she had faced on other worlds during her training. For every one she_ did _manage to destroy, two more immediately took its place. She had already lost sight of Chloe and the others. She had seen Master Aqua for a moment as well, but she disappeared as well. As Ruby defended herself, she finally caught sight of another wielder."Master Kairi!"_

_Kairi turned to face her student. "Ruby!" The two began to run toward each other, but were suddenly cut off by a massive fissure. Darkness began to pour through the crack._

" _Master Kairi!" Ruby reached out futilely. "Master, what do we do? What do_ I _do!?"_

_Kairi's posture relaxed, her face blank. "Ruby. Follow your heart and stay safe."_

_The cloud of darkness intensified and completely obstructed Ruby's view of her Master. "KAIRI!" The younger wielder stepped back and was soon surrounded by Shadows. She raised Crescent Rose, her two-handed grip tightening desperately. "Follow my heart? What does that mean? What do I do?" She didn't have long left. The Land of Departure was falling to darkness, and she couldn't stop it._

_The ground beneath her feet crumbled. She felt the pull of darkness and feared what it meant. Her Keyblade began to glow, attempting to stave off her dark fate. She needed to escape, but she didn't know how. Trying to follow her Master's advice, she reached out to her own heart for a solution. Her Keyblade's glow grew stronger and the darkness rushed in. Ruby vanished as the heartless swarmed and the world crumbled into the void…_

* * *

Ruby woke with a start. Sunlight filtered the window of her room. _My room. In dad's cabin. On Patch. In Remnant. Yesterday… yesterday really happened._ She immediately jumped to her feet and raced into to the dining room to find her sleeping father next to an empty mug and the Gummiphone. She snatched up the device and checked for missed calls. _Nothing. No one called. No one…_

Ruby didn't know what to do. She was trapped on Remnant and didn't even have the assurance someone besides her made it off the Land of Departure alive. She dropped the Gummiphone, slowly walked to the couch, and curled up onto it.

That was the state Yang found her sister in almost a half an hour later. The blonde frowned and sat next to her sister, allowing Ruby to bury her head into Yang's shoulder. "I don't know what to do, Yang..." Ruby confided between quiet sobs.

"Hey, if you made it out, I'm sure the others did too," Yang assured.

Ruby shook her head, "You can't know that..."

Yang thought for a moment, looking to her bracelet. "Maybe not, but you can, can't you?"

"What?" Ruby looked up to her sister.

"You're connected to them, right?" Yang reminded her. "I remember all those books you used to bring home during visits. I know you connected with her, and I don't believe you studied with other trainees without connecting to them as well."

Ruby sat up, realizing her sister was right. She raised her fist to her chest and closed her eyes, reaching out to her own heart. For a moment she felt as though she had returned to her Dive, standing atop the stained glass tower. Around her she could feel the pulses of Kairi and her fellow trainees. Distant, but they existed. She opened her eyes and smiled. "I felt them..."

Yang smiled as well, "Told ya so."

"Still..." Ruby's smile faltered, "I don't know what to do next. Until someone comes for me, or I find a way to leave, whatever comes first… I'm stuck."

"You can't fix your armor?" Yang asked.

They both looked to her cracked vambrace. "I didn't even know it could break like this," Ruby informed Yang, "it should be like the full armor. Y'know, made of light, self repairing..."

"I _don't_ know," Yang reminded her, "which sucks, cause I'd _love_ to help you think about ways to fix it."

"Master Riku did say something once about how someone who's not an expert can help you think outside the box..." Ruby mentioned off-handedly.

"Makes sense, I guess..." Yang rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I'll let you know if I think of anything."

"Thanks..." Ruby nodded. Without a topic to focus on, her mind began falling into the funk again.

And Yang could tell. "Well, I'm gunna make breakfast. Wanna help?"

Ruby snapped to attention. "Uh… Yeah, sure. What are we doing?"

"Let's check the kitchen," Yang stood and stretched, "and we'll figure it out."

As they passed the dining area on the way into the kitchen, Ruby stopped short by her father. Her eyes passed down to the Gummiphone. Taiyang opened his eyes in time to see her pick up the device. "Ruby?"

"Oh. Morning dad. Yang and I are making breakfast," Ruby told him.

Taiyang looked to his youngest with confusion. "Are… you okay?"

Ruby looked back to Yang before returning her gaze to her father. "No. But I'm a little better than I was last night. I think everyone is still alive. Since I can't travel, that will have to do for now."

Taiyang nodded, understanding. "Here, I'll help with breakfast too."

"Um… are you sure the kitchen is big enough for all of us?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, I miss you, alright, kiddo?" Taiyang ruffled his youngest's hair, "so I'm gunna spend time with my daughters, 'kay?"

Ruby smiled, "All three of us? We're gunna make a mess of this kitchen."

"A mess?" Yang laughed while pulling out pots and pans, "We're gunna _destroy_ this kitchen!"

"C'mon," Taiyang patted Ruby's back and walked to the pantry.

Ruby looked down at the Gummiphone in her hand one last time. She wanted to have it on her in case someone finally called back. _But until then..._ She pocketed it and ran into the kitchen to join her family.

* * *

A small girl with multicolored hair, clothing, and eyes stormed into the 'abandoned' warehouse deep in Vale's Industrial District. The pink, brown and white creature blurred past an airship scorched by lightning, past two bored looking teenagers on a couch watching TV, and straight into an office nearby. Within that office was the last woman the small girl would ever want to offend. Usually, that is. Today, however, the small girl was a little to _livid_ to worry about that right now.

The woman in question had dark hair with ashen tips, a tight red dress and cold amber eyes. Eyes that the multi-colored girl fearlessly stared down while slamming a newspaper on the table. The ashen-haired woman idly glanced at the headline. _ROMAN TORCHWICK FINALLY IN CUSTODY_. "There were… complications," the woman explained. "Besides, this was the plan. Eventually."

Mismatched eyes rolled in their socket. The girl pulled a pen out of somewhere and wrote across the newspaper, 'After the General showed!'

"Things happen, Neopolitan. Get Emerald and Mercury," the woman waved the direction she assumed to two teenagers to be. "This doesn't change the plan. Only modifies it."

Neo reluctantly nodded and left the office. The woman turned back to what she was doing before that girl's rude invasion. Namely, watching the video feed from the Dust store robbery. The way that girl moved, how she handled Dust. It was unnatural.

_If it even was Dust._

It was hardly the first time _that_ thought had crossed the woman's mind. Ever since she had learned true magic existed, she had desired it for her own. She had even managed to steal half of the mythical Fall Maiden's elemental power. Now she was scheming to steal the other half from right under Ozpin's nose, and she wouldn't let anything stop her. The power of the Maidens was the strongest on all of Remnant, after all.

Or it _was_. What this little girl could do… Multiple elements, displacing her weapon, the raw _strength_ behind her attacks. It was leagues above what her own paltry, inexperienced fireballs could do at the moment. And she hated when someone was stronger than her. "I'll just have to finish taking taking what's mine from Ozpin. _That_ will put me on the same level as this girl. Then I'll beat her, study her, and I'll take _her_ power too. It all belongs to _me_."

"Cinder?"

The ashen-haired woman turned to face the voice calling her name, the ever loyal Emerald Sustrai. Next to her was the ever bored Mercury Black. Her trusted subordinates, as much as she trusted anyone. Which was not at all. "You wanted to see us?" Emerald continued.

"Is this about you letting Roman take a fall?" Mercury cut in.

Cinder stepped up to the planning table. She didn't get this far by being hasty. The little girl would come in time. For now, she had a plan to restructure.


	7. Stagnant

The kitchen was an absolute disaster. The trio had spent hours taking turns cooking whatever came to mind. The two off the stove would pick from whatever had been made while the person on the stove rushed to finish the next breakfast item. As a result, by noon the counters were littered with various half-eaten breakfast foods. Ruby understood it was basically a massive distraction for her sake, but that didn't stop her from enjoying it. She did miss spending time with her father and sister after all.

Ringing came from Taiyang's pocket, and the man pulled out the offending device. Ruby recalled the girl on the beach offering her a similar device the night before. "Wait, is that what scrolls look like now?"

"Yup," Taiyang nodded as he opened the screen to check the Caller ID.

"Wow," Ruby stared, "I really have been away a while..."

"What the..." Taiyang's face showed confusion when he saw who was calling him. "I should take this, I'll be back in a minute," he walked into the back yard.

Yang smirked, "Guess that means we can skip his turn!"

Ruby did a double take at her sister. "How is there _anything_ left to cook in this kitchen?"

Outside, Taiyang answered the call. "Ozpin?"

"Good morning, Mr. Xiao Long," Professor Ozpin greeted formally.

"Good morning," Taiyang politely returned. "What's with the call? Is there something wrong with Yang's paperwork?"

"Not at all," Ozpin assured, "I believe everything is fine on that front. I was actually calling about your other daughter."

"Ruby?" Taiyang looked back through the window toward his daughter. She hadn't even been back on-world twenty-four hours. She spent almost no time on Remnant to begin with. Why was Ozpin of all people calling after her? With the World Order to think about among other things, he couldn't help but be on guard. "What about her?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, I had the good fortune of running into young Ruby Rose last night after she helped foil a robbery," Ozpin informed him.

Again, Taiyang was surprised, though perhaps not quite as much. Hearing she put her own worries aside to help someone else wasn't very surprising at all. What was vaguely surprising was Ruby not mentioning it. Although, considering what she must have gone through, Taiyang quickly deduced his daughter likely simply forgot about the robbery. "I wasn't aware, actually. Of either of those things. Truth is, the morning has been… hectic."

"Is that so?" Ozpin sounded surprised himself.

Taiyang smirked, thinking about Ruby fighting off crooks on the dark streets of Vale. He may have been worried if he wasn't sure of the skill Ruby already possessed. "So, did she do well?"

"Very well," Ozpin answered, sounding like he had been caught off guard by the casual question. "She has a surprisingly high level of skill for one so young. In fact, I offered her a spot at Beacon."

Taiyang noted Ozpin's optimistic tone. "And did she accept?"

"Well, not yet, no," Ozpin admitted, "though I have confidence. Perhaps you could speak with her? It is quite the opportunity."

"I doubt it would change her mind..." Taiyang told him, knowing full well why Ruby would turn down a four-year commitment.

"Regardless, I was preparing a file so that in the case she accepted last minute we could still take her," Ozpin continued, seemingly unfazed, "and there seems to be a gap in her information. What school did she attend for her combat training?"

Taiyang suppressed a groan. This wasn't a good sign. At the thought of the World Order, Taiyang was once again on the defensive. "She didn't attend a combat school."

"Really?" Ozpin pressed. "Then where _did_ she learn?"

Taiyang did not like this line of questioning. "Look, Oz, I don't see how this is important. Her record isn't incomplete, and a recommendation from you should more than make up for her lack of 'formal' training."

There was a pause on the other end. "Of course, you're right," Ozpin eventually conceded, "I suppose I wanted to sate my own curiosity. Please pass along to Ruby that my offer still stands."

"I will. Talk to you later, Oz."

"Goodbye, Mr. Xiao Long."

The call ended, and Taiyang furrowed his brow. He wasn't quite sure how to read that conversation. Eventually he shrugged, taking away only what he was told. There was no reason to read farther into it than that right? It's not like Ozpin knew anything…

"Who called?" Yang asked as Taiyang stepped back into the house.

"Ozpin," he answered, looking to Ruby pointedly.

"Oshpin?" Ruby asked through a mouthful of eggs, "Why doesh that name shound fami-iar?"

Taiyang gave his daughter a moment to think. Obvious realization dawned on her face, and she swallowed slowly. "Oh. Right."

"Wait, what happened?" Yang piped in.

"I… may have stopped a robbery while I was trying to figure what world I landed on," Ruby explained.

"What!?" Yang smiled. "Awesome! But… what does Professor Ozpin have to do with that?"

"Apparently Oz was there," Taiyang picked up, "and invited Ruby to Beacon."

Yang's eyes lit up. "That is so awesome!"

Ruby arched her eyebrow, "you know I'm _not_ going right?"

Yang's smiled faded slightly. "Y-yeah, of course… sorry, the thought of going with you just… made me super excited."

"You're going to Beacon this year?" Ruby quickly deduced.

"Yup!" The older sister tried recovering quickly. "I may not be a Keyblade wielder, but I can do my part protecting our home world."

Ruby smiled widely, "Well, congrats on earning a spot!"

"Thanks," Yang smiled back.

"Kinda weird, though, right?" Ruby asked her father. "I mean, that he would call just to tell you that?"

"Well, he did want me to remind you the offer still stands," Taiyang passed along.

"Really?" Ruby sighed, "It hasn't even been a day. Why does he want me so badly?"

* * *

Ozpin's eyes narrowed, staring at his scroll that still displayed Taiyang's contact. He wouldn't give so easily. Ruby's power was an unknown variable, and he could not afford to keep it so. Ozpin cycled his contacts to Qrow Branwen, his most trusted agent and close uncle to Yang and Ruby. Ozpin had been toying with the possibility that Qrow knew of Ruby's power and had kept the secret for years. It was time to confront that possibility. He sent the call.

"What's up, Oz? All good?" Qrow answered with concern. He knew Ozpin didn't call if it wasn't important.

"I had a very interesting encounter with your niece last night," Ozpin opened carefully, gauging the situation.

"What did Yang do now?" Qrow seemed exhausted by the thought.

"No, Qrow, your _other_ niece," Ozpin clarified, "I encountered-"

"Ruby!?" Qrow interrupted, "Last night? Ruby's in Vale?"

_That_ certainly got Ozpin's attention. "Is she not supposed to be?"

"Tai said she wouldn't be home for another week," Qrow explained.

"Where would she be if not home?" Ozpin asked.

"Training somewhere," Qrow answered.

"Training _where_?" Ozpin pressed.

"I wish I knew..." Qrow lamented, "the number of times I tried to wring it out of Tai… but he only ever said it was someplace 'very far away'. No real name or location."

"Very far away..." Ozpin mulled, "Ruby said something very similar."

"That doesn't surprise me. Yang would probably give you the exact same answer, too." Qrow sighed deeply, "a while back, all three of them started treating Ruby like she was some big secret. Tai pulled her out of school, sent her to wherever 'very far away' is, and refused to answer my god damn questions. She visits for a week or two every few months, but other than that she may as well be on a different planet."

"I see," Ozpin nodded to himself.

"Why you're so interested in her of all sudden?" Qrow asked.

Ozpin considered his options. He didn't want to sew distrust between Qrow and his remaining family, but having another angle of attack could prove valuable. "First, I have to apologize. For a brief moment, my trust in you was shaken."

"Why?" Qrow sounded genuinely surprised, "What did I do?"

"Nothing, as it turns out," Ozpin explained, "I met Ruby last night after she helped foil a robbery. I watched the recording of her fight time and again, and I believe she has access to magic. Not Dust, genuine magic."

"That's ridiculous," Qrow countered immediately. "All this started years ago when we still had good track of all the maidens. Ruby can't be one herself, the time period doesn't fit."

"I believe so as well," Ozpin confessed, "but I know magic when I see it. Which means there is another method of magic, one we must strive to understand. As such, I attempted inviting Ruby to Beacon, to keep watch over her and study her magic. So far, she has refused."

"I… I don't know what to think, Oz," Qrow admitted, "You know I trust you, but I trust Tai, too."

"I don't intend to drive wedge between your family," Ozpin promised solemnly, "but I felt I at least owed you my… suspicions."

"I'll talk to Tai soon," Qrow announced, "see things for myself. I'll talk to you later, Oz."

"Good luck, Qrow," Ozpin offered.

"Heh, don't insult me," Qrow teased with a short laugh.

The call cut, and Ozpin was left with his thoughts. He had hoped to find answers, but only had more questions. _The mystery of Ruby Rose deepens…_

* * *

The next few days were incredibly slow for the young Keyblade wielder. She knew all she could do was either repair her armor or wait. She didn't know how to repair her armor and just waiting was killing her. She constantly reached out with her heart to feel her connections with increased frequency. Each time Ruby felt that her friends were safe, but it was helping less and less as she couldn't act.

Yang woke up on her last full day at home before leaving for Beacon. She checked on her bags, which were by her open window. From there, she could hear something in the backyard. Yang looked out the window to see Ruby, Keyblade in hand, running herself through some kind of drills. Yang frowned. She hated the stress Ruby was putting on herself, but didn't know how to help her sister.

That's when Yang noticed her huntress weapons, the shotgun gauntlets she had dubbed the Ember Celica, on her bedside table. She picked them up with a grin and ran outside. "Hey Rubes! You ain't overworking yourself, are you?"

Ruby stopped mid-swing. "Yang? No, it's only been… maybe an hour?"

"Maybe an hour?" Yang scoffed. "That's not overworking yourself?"

"I'm pacing myself," Ruby assured. "An hour is nothing. Master Kairi and I once spent an hour on a single heartless in Neverland. We had to keep casting Stop on the clock tower, it kept hiding it's core, it was super annoying."

Yang's face was blank. "I'm not gunna pretend I understood any of that. So, if you're not too exhausted already..." She switched her gauntlets to their combat mode, extending down her arm and cocking Dust bullets, "wanna spar? For old times sake, before I leave tomorrow?"

Ruby smirked, turning to face her sister fully and placing a hand on one hip. "You sure about that? Not to brag, but… I have been in pretty heavy combat training for the last three years."

"Make ya' a deal," Yang smirked just as confidently, "You don't use magic, I won't use Dust, and we'll see just what you're really made of."

"Sounds fair," Ruby settled into her combat stance.

The sisters dashed, closing the short distance between them in an instant. Ruby swung first, A strike Yang easily blocked with her left gauntlet before throwing her right fist. Ruby simply tilted her head, feeling the air from the punch while dodging the fist itself. From the position Ruby was in now, Yang's gut was open to a quick swipe of Crescent Rose.

Yang stumbled back. "Whew. I guess the Land of Departure don't cheap out on the Wheaties."

"You've gotten pretty good yourself," Ruby returned praise, "that punch almost hit me."

"Now that I'm warmed up," Yang raised her fists again, "the next one won't miss!"

She wasn't wrong. After trading blocked strikes and empty blows, Yang ultimately landed the next solid hit. Right across Ruby's jaw. The brawler quickly followed up, landing three more punches. The last one was an uppercut that launched Ruby. Yang tried to follow Ruby into the air, rearing her arm to add a fifth attack to her combo.

Her face turned to one of shock when Ruby, in a blink of an eye, flipped upright and blocked the strike. Ruby pushed against Yang's fist to unbalance her and struck her three times before either of them touched the ground. Ruby landed on her feet. Yang landed on her butt and quickly rolled backward and onto her feet.

"You hit like a fright train, sis," Ruby smiled and rubbed her jaw. "Not bad."

"Well, thank you," Yang breathed, "but I'm wondering how you did that re-balancing thing in the air?"

"Ariel Recovery?" Ruby asked, "It's an acrobatic technique. I can try teaching it to you, I guess? It doesn't take any-"

"Uncle Qrow!" Yang helpfully cut her sister off before she said the 'm' word.

Ruby spun around. Indeed there was her uncle Qrow Branwen, in all his grayed, grizzled, alcoholic glory. "Uncle Qrow?" Ruby's response was more of a question. Usually her father warned her when Qrow was on his way…

"Hey kiddo," Qrow smiled, "Little birdy told me you were home early. Thought I'd drop by."

"Right," Ruby stood dumbstruck, trying to process. She shook her head. "Sorry! Just took me by surprise," she smiled.

Qrow smiled and crossed his arms. "You were looking pretty good out there. I knew you were training, but I've never seen you in action. Gunna have to show me that 'Ariel Recovery' trick at some point, too."

"You were watching?" Ruby asked, trying to mask her concern. Her and Yang weren't subtle about certain secrets. "For how long?"

"You were already sparrin' when I showed up," Qrow unwittingly assuaged Ruby's fears, "Just a bit before Yang's uppercut. I can see why Ozpin was impressed with ya."

"Ozpin?" Ruby caught quickly.

"Qrow?" Taiyang called out from the backdoor. "You should have told me you were coming, I would have made an extra plate for breakfast!"

"Sorry, Tai," Qrow offered, "I was on my way through, just thought I'd stop by real quick."

"Well, come on in!" Taiyang smiled. "Girls! Breakfast!"

"Coming, dad!" Yang called out, eagerly jogging inside.

Qrow took the opportunity to give his younger niece a visual pat down. He had been around the maidens enough in his time to know how magic feels. Those unusual clothes of Ruby's definitely had an energy of some kind, not to mention that strange sword that seemed to overflow with potential… "Interesting weapon," Qrow dared call it out. "And here I'd always thought you'd end up with a scythe like mine."

Ruby looked down to her Keyblade. "I guess Crescent Rose just feels more natural. I mean, weapons are supposed to be an extension of us, right?" _And if only you knew how much._

"Fair enough," Qrow shrugged, though he kept a suspicious eye on the weapon. Ruby felt his gaze, but didn't dare dispel her Keyblade in front of him.

"Hey, get inside already, you two," Taiyang interrupted the moment. Much to Ruby's relief. She had no idea what the sudden tension between her and her uncle was about, but she knew she didn't like it. The two joined the rest of the family inside and seated themselves. "I was able to scrape together an extra plate!" Taiyang announced as he passed the plate to Qrow, "buuuut that means no seconds."

"Aw man!" Yang dismayed, before striking up a more casual conversation with their uncle. "So, what kind of work are you doing lately, old man?"

Conversation flowed naturally with the usual catching-up kind of conversation. However, the conversation inevitably turned to Ruby, as it always did. "So, Tai, when are you going to tell me where Ruby trains?"

Taiyang groaned, Yang winced, and Ruby sighed. Qrow asked this nearly every time Ruby had visited home, and it was a topic everyone hated. Taiyang responded, "Why is that so important to you?"

"That Ariel Recovery trick is not something _I've_ ever heard of before, and I've been all over the place. If they're teaching her more moves like that, maybe I'll sign up for classes myself," Qrow rationalized.

"I don't know that they would take you," Taiyang told him.

"Why not?" Qrow pushed. "Is it 'cause I'm old? It's 'cause I'm old, isn't it?"

"There's… special criteria," Taiyang tried his best to toe the line, trying to give Qrow an answer he could be happy with.

"Criteria Ruby meets that I don't?" Qrow pressed, resolved not to leave without answers this time. "Well, maybe I just want to visit my niece more than two or three times a year?"

Ruby knew this conversation needed to stop, and decided to interject. "Uncle Qrow… Ozpin told you I was here, didn't he?"

The table fell quiet as Qrow was successfully caught off-guard. Taiyang rubbed his face, "Really, Qrow? Don't tell me you're here because of him..."

Qrow felt the tide turn against him. "I'm not here _for_ him, since that's what you're really asking. But… I am curious why Ruby turned him down?"

"I already have training, you know that," Ruby reminded him.

"Secret training with an unknown teacher?" Qrow pointed out, "not exactly a certified huntsman academy. Can they even give you a license?"

"She doesn't need one," Yang defended bluntly. Perhaps a little too bluntly, given the metal boot that then kicked her shin under the table.

"What, you're going to do your thing without an official status?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Ruby _shouldn't_ be training at this mysterious school of hers."

"That's for _her_ to decide," Taiyang stood his ground. "Whether you're here for Ozpin or not, did you come here just to convince her to attend Beacon?"

Qrow frowned. "No, I didn't. But it's an opportunity she shouldn't dismiss out of hand."

"And I didn't," Ruby deadpanned.

"Can we please drop this conversation?" Taiyang sighed, "It's been a rough enough week, lets just… enjoy breakfast?"

Qrow looked around the table, reading the mood of the room. He could tell things had gone badly, for everyone. "I… I think I should just go," he lamented, and stood to leave.

"Qrow..." Taiyang called after him. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't mean to alienate you… It's just… complicated."

Qrow stopped with his hand on the door, looking back at Taiyang. He knew now they were keeping secrets. _But aren't I keeping some secrets of my own? Maybe they have perfectly valid reasons, like I do…_ At the end of it all, it came down to if Qrow trusted Taiyang or not, and the pair had been through too much together for Qrow _not_ to trust him. He believed Taiyang didn't want him estranged. He believed, because he felt the same way. "I understand," Qrow nodded.

* * *

The day never really recovered after Qrow left. The sun had set and Yang double checked her bag one last time before dinner. She began walking to the kitchen, bringing her past Ruby's room. Yang looked in to see her sister at her desk literally hunched over the Gummiphone, waiting.

Ruby had tried to look at her vambrace, but couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. It wasn't like it was built traditionally as a device. She had called contacts on the Gummiphone to yet more silence, and checked her connections yet again to see no change. Now she was simply sitting over the Gummiphone with no idea how to proceed.

Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to her sister. "Hey, Yang. Is dinner ready?" Yang sat down on Ruby's bed nearby. Her posture, energy, and solid gaze told Ruby her sister wanted to talk about something serious. "Is everything okay?"

Yang took a deep breath, mentally preparing for the conversation to come. "I think you should go to Beacon."

Ruby groaned, "not you too! You know why I couldn't if I wanted to!"

"Do I?" Yang countered. "Ruby, how long are you going to be here? Do you even know?"

Ruby found herself unable to answer.

Yang powered on. "I get it, I do. And if Kairi and the others are still kicking, I've no doubt they'll come for you at some point. But what are you going to do until then? Wait here, staring the phone? What if it takes weeks? Months? What if they're not answering because they're in their own battles right now and it's safer for you to leave you here? Maybe they just lost their Gummiphones and are stranded like you are?"

"You just want me to go with you so we'll be going together," Ruby argued.

"I admit that," Yang nodded. "But I really think that it will be good for you as well. If sitting in your room, staring at the Gummiphone is your plan for the immediate future, you're only going to depress yourself. If you go to Beacon, you can stay busy, and the combat training will keep you from getting rusty."

"I can't make a four year commitment," Ruby reminded her sister.

"Who's saying you are?" Yang countered. "Whether it's a few months or a few days, who's going to stop you from dropping out? From just not showing up to class? You don't need a huntress license."

Ruby floundered. Yang was systematically breaking down her arguments. And worse still, Yang was making sense. Even if all Ruby could do was wait, then sitting still while doing so would do her no favors. "What about my Keyblade? My magic? How do I explain these things?"

"You never did find a Semblance, right?" Yang pointed out. "We'll just pretend your summoning and dispelling Crescent Rose is a part of that. Spatial Manipulation?"

Ruby's brain started to consider this, despite herself. "That could also explain Flowmotion abilities..."

"As for magic, most of it is elemental, right?" Yang thought out, "Just carry some Dust in plain view and act weirdly secretive if anyone asks how your weapon works."

"That actually might work..." Ruby muttered. "Not like anyone on Remnant would assume my magic is natural anyways. Natural magic doesn't exist here."

"Look, it's ultimately up to you," Yang conceded. "But I don't think it's a bad idea. It may even be a good one."

With that, Yang left the room. Ruby looked back over the Gummiphone with a frown. Her sister hit a lot of good points, including how she was just stagnating. She fished Ozpin's card out of her pocket. _I still don't like it… but it's better than doing nothing…_ Ruby stood and found Yang and her father at the dining table. "Can I borrow one of your scrolls?" Yang smiled as she offered hers, and Ruby quickly dialed the number.

"This is Professor Ozpin."

"Hey. Um, this is Ruby."

"Ms. Rose?"

"I don't know how long I can stay. If other things come up, I _am_ leaving. If you can accept that, and the offer is still open… I'll come to Beacon."


	8. Beacon

A mass of students piled off the airship and onto the shining courtyard of Beacon Academy. Among them were a pair of sisters, one significantly more happy to be there than the other. "I know it's no Land of Departure," Yang laid her arm on her sister's shoulder, "but it's not so bad, right?"

Ruby considered briefly being rude about it, but the truth was this _was_ her choice. Her frustrations weren't even about Beacon, but the still silent Gummiphone in her back pocket. Putting her frustrations on Yang wouldn't be fair. Ruby managed a smile, "It reminds me a lot of the castle, really. A ton more people, though."

"Really?" Yang seemed genuinely surprised. "I thought there's be trainees out the wahoo."

"Gross," Ruby shook her head, "and no. There were only four students, including me."

"Four students for _all_ the worlds?" Yang frowned. "That's… a heavy burden."

"There's supposed to other schools, with other wielders… spread across The World… like dandelions..." Ruby recalled her studies distantly. Yang gave her sister a puzzled look, and Ruby realized she spoke aloud. "Sorry, old stories. Hard to tell what's fact and what's myth, but all fairy tales start somewhere."

"Old Keyblader stories?" Yang surmised, "What's this about 'The World'? You say that like there's only one."

"That's one of the longer stories, I'll tell you another time," Ruby smiled. "For now, where are we going?"

"I think we've got a bit of time before we all meet in the auditorium," Yang informed her, "Oh, and I see some of my friends!" Yang began to strut off before suddenly stopping and turning back to Ruby. "Um… so you want to tag along, or…?"

Ruby chuckled, "go with your friends, sis. We'll have plenty of time later." Yang smiled and waved goodbye. Ruby watched her walk off, her own smile fading from he face. "Now… what am _I_ going to do?" With no other plan, she settled on wandering.

It wasn't too long before she found a distraction. A massive pile of large metal cases on one of those hotel luggage carts. Ruby approached slowly, looking around for the luggage's owner. She saw no one, and reached out toward one of the cases.

"Get away from that!"

Ruby jumped backward and spun around. A girl with platinum hair, a white combat dress with matching wedge boots and bolero, and a scar over her left eye was furiously tapping her foot at her. "Oh, sorry," Ruby offered, "I didn't see anyone."

"And that allows you to touch something that isn't yours?" The girl interrogated.

"I was just going to look for a name tag or something..." Ruby defended. "I mean, if it's so important, why did you leave it in the first place?"

The girl didn't answer. She instead began checking over the cases. Ruby hung by, mostly because she didn't know what else to do. The girl shot a few sideways glances Ruby's way. "What's with those clothes?"

Ruby looked down at her outfit in surprise. "What's with _my_ clothes? Have you seen how half the people around here are dressed? What's so strange about my clothes?"

The girl's eyes passed over the courtyard before slowly returning to Ruby. "I… guess I don't know. Something's just… off."

Ruby smirked and leaned in closer, speaking quietly and exaggerating with her hands. "What if I told you… my clothes are _encha_ _aaa_ _nted_?"

The girl scoffed. "Don't you have an older sibling to see off?"

Ruby cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Whoever in your family is actually coming to Beacon," the girl reiterated. "Aren't you here to see them off? Why aren't you spending time with _them_?"

"Um… I am coming to Beacon, though?" Ruby informed her.

The girl laughed. "Nice try, but there's a bit of an age requirement you clearly don't meet."

_Here I was worrying about hiding my magic, but I guess people would need to accept I'm actually attending first. Guess I am a few years younger than anyone else here._ Ruby never thought about it before now. She shrugged mentally, not really seeing how it mattered to her. Instead, she focused on the girl having trouble with her luggage. "Need help?"

"Like I would let a dishonest child anywhere near my Dust," the girl grimaced, "Do you have any idea how much this is all worth?"

"After what I spent this morning, I have a bit of an idea..." Ruby muttered under her breath, glancing down to the Dust vials that now hung off her waist in plain view. "Wait, is this _all_ Dust!? How much do you need?"

"Not _all_ of it!" the girl defended. "There's my wardrobe and decorations for my dorm. Only half of these cases are Dust."

"Half..." Ruby counted the cases. "How? Are you rich or something?"

The girl's head turned slowly to look at her, her face one of genuine confusion. "Do you not know who I am?"

_Here we go, it's the police station all over again…_ "I've been out of town for a while," Ruby excused, "so, no?"

"How far out of town, another planet?" the girl didn't sound like she believed her. "I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. If you've bought Dust at all in the past two generations, let alone the past _night_ , those crystals came from my family's mines."

"Oh, neat!" Ruby smiled and held out her hand. "Good to meet you, Weiss! My name is Ruby Rose!"

"'Neat'?" Weiss was clearly not expecting this reaction. "My family's wealth and success is just 'neat' to you?"

"I mean… isn't it?" Ruby asked, confused.

Weiss rolled her eyes, grabbed her cart and began walking away. "Children."

Ruby's eyes narrowed. She had given this girl the benefit of the doubt, but Weiss seemed almost outright antagonistic. "Well, you're not much older than me, princess!" Ruby shouted after the heiress. Weiss only continued to retreat into the distance.

"Oh, that was lame, Ruby, you're lame..." she muttered to herself after. She felt another set of eyes in her and turned to see a girl with black hair, black and white clothing, and a bow on top of her head. The new girl was giving her a blank stare with wide eyes and an open jaw. Ruby assumed it had something to do with the interaction, and tried to salvage, "Can you believe her? I've met actual princesses less full of themselves."

The new girl's only reaction was to raise one of her eyebrows further than it already was.

_Shoot, does Remnant have princesses!?_ "Well, see you around!" Ruby waved her off quickly and speed walked away before she could cause any more damage to her future reputation.

* * *

"Ruby! I saved you a spot!"

Ruby spotted her sister across the auditorium and quickly ran to her side. Yang tossed an arm over her sister's shoulder, "how's your first day going?"

"Does Remnant have princesses?" Ruby asked bluntly.

"Um… no…" Yang answered, "Why?"

"No reason..." Ruby sighed, looking out of the corner of her eye to see the bow-headed girl nearby.

"Wait, have you met an actual princess?" Yang deduced quickly.

Ruby laughed nervously, elbowing her sister in the ribs, "Well, obviously not since we don't have them hahaha..."

"Oh, right, yeah, haha..." Yang recovered quickly. She was so used to talking freely about these things with Ruby, she forgot she had to be careful about it now they were both at Beacon.

The mic sounded, bringing everyone's attention to the stage. Professor Ozpin stepped up to the mic, looking over all the new students. His eyes lingered on Ruby, something the redhead didn't fail to notice. He quickly looked away afterward to begin his speech. Ruby didn't really retain the words. She did get the general message that Beacon could only do so much and it was up to the students to dedicate themselves. Not for the first time, Ruby wondered if giving in and coming to Beacon was a bad idea.

Ozpin walked away after his speech, and Glynda Goodwicth stepped up to the mic. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

By then the sun was already setting, and everyone began unpacking their sleeping bags onto the ballroom floor. Ruby looked around and noticed one thing in particular – the friendships. Everyone was interacting with someone or huddling into groups. Even Yang was chatting it up with a few girls she knew from Signal.

It all served to make Ruby miss her own friends more. She found herself leaving the ballroom entirely and wandering nearby empty hallways. She stopped by one of the larger windows, staring up at the stars. That was where Ozpin finally found her. "Ah, Ms. Rose. I was hoping to run into you."

"Professor Ozpin," Ruby greeted causually.

"I must admit, I was starting to lose faith that you would accept my invitation," Ozpin confessed. "Quite the definition of 'last minute'."

"I still almost didn't," Ruby reminded him. "Like I said on the pho- on the scroll, I'm probably not going to be here for very long." She was reminded of the Gummiphone weighing down her pocket, "I hope..."

"What other responsibility do you expect to come up?" Ozpin questioned sincerely.

However genuine his question may have been, Ruby knew she couldn't answer it honestly. Maybe a half-truth would keep him from further questions. "I'm waiting for word from my teacher."

"Teacher?" Ozpin asked, "So you are formally trained?"

"Yes," Ruby sighed.

"And where are they now?" Ozpin continued.

"Away," Ruby answered shortly, hoping to end this little interrogation.

Ozpin seemed to get the message. "Well, I am sure you will find some value in your time here. I do hope you will not come to regret your decision."

Ruby watched Ozpin walk away before responding under her breath, "Yeah, me too..."

* * *

The next morning, Glynda lead them to a cliff side by way of the locker rooms they were encouraged to drop their weapons in the night before. Once at said cliff side, they were instructed to stand on a series of metal plates that looked suspiciously like launch pads. Professor Ozpin stepped up to inform them their 'initiation' was essentially a combat exam before Professor Goodwitch took over proceedings.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams," she opened. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

"Wait, teams?" Ruby muttered quietly. _Dan_ _g_ _it, Yang, no one told me about teams!_

Ozpin took back over the explanation. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

_That seems… inefficient_ , Ruby frowned. She listened half-heartedly to the rest of his information, picking up just enough to know what she needed to do while skipping over the grading half of his speech. Next to her, people started to be shot into the forest in turn by the little catapults they were all standing on. _I knew it_.

"Well, see you in a few sis," Yang winked before she was launched into the forest.

Soon Ruby was flung through the air herself. It certainly worked to get her blood pumping better than even Little Chef's best coffee. Despite herself, a smile found her face. Of course, it wasn't long before she realized the ground was coming quickly. Someone up on the cliff had said the words 'landing strategy', though she didn't know who. _But why land when you can fly?_

Ruby's smile grew as she summoned Crescent Rose and threw it ahead of her. One flash of red light later and the redheaded Keyblade wielder was gleefully dodging trees on her glider. "Okay, so I guess I need to find a partner. Yang would be best. The longer I can push off my 'space semblance' excuse, the longer before someone can poke holes in the story."

She slowed her glider to a more leisurely speed and she started looking out for students on the ground. She passed a few that had either already partnered up or she had zero interest in. "I 'coulda sworn Yang flew this way…" Ruby sighed, seeing someone with long crimson hair helping a scraggly blond down from being speared to a tree.

Then, the sounds of combat. Ruby clearly heard the growls of beasts and _snicker-snack_ of a thin-bladed sword. Her training as a protector kicked into high gear. Yang was completely forgotten as Ruby charged toward the fight. She found the 'princess' from earlier, Weiss Schnee, fending off a collection of Grimm like bipedal wolves. _Beowolves, I think…_

Ruby charged, high speed, directly at a Beowolf pouncing towards Weiss. She jumped off her glider at the last moment. It caught the Beowolf in the chest and pinned the monster to a nearby tree. The Grimm began to dissolve. Ruby landed back-to-back to Weiss and summoned Crescent Rose back to her in Keyblade form. The heiress gave her a sideways look. "What are _you_ doing here!?"

"Helping?" Ruby shrugged.

The redhead looked forward again seeing three Beowolves stalking slowly towards her. She ran forward toward them, Crescent Rose at the ready. The Grimm leapt at her in turn. First the Beowolves from either side, followed by farthest Beowolf from between the two. Ruby knocked each of the first two aside with two heavy swings back and forth. The last Beowolf she jumped over, spinning sideways, Keyblade out, striking the Grimm face-first into the ground. Once she landed behind the three monsters, Ruby raised the point of her Keyblade into the air. "Thundara!" called down three bolts of lightning to fry the Beowolves, finishing them off.

Weiss was no less efficient with her Beowolves. She stabbed one straight through its chest with her rapier. A second lunged, and she merged the extraction of her blade from the first beast naturally into a leg sweep for the second one. The two Beowolves fell on top of each other, and Weiss skewered them as she activated Burn Dust down her blade. The Grimm were scorched from the inside out. A blue snowflake glyph appeared underneath the last monster, and a cylinder in Weiss's sword hilt spun. Suddenly, the last Beowolf was encased in ice. A black glyph appeared in the air vertically behind Weiss, which she promptly backflipped onto. Weiss launched off the glyph like a rocket, sword first, and the force shattered the frozen Grimm.

Ruby saw no other Grimm nearby and dispelled Crescent Rose. Weiss sheathed her own blade before rounding on the young redhead. "I didn't need your help."

"I didn't think you needed help," Ruby defended.

"How did you even get here?" Weiss asked. "This forest is dangerous, you know."

"Same way you did…?" Ruby was confused. "Oh, right! Eye contact! I guess we're partners, aren't we?"

"Partners?" Weiss's face scrunched, "Are you still trying to convince me you're attending Beacon?"

"I mean… I am, though..." Ruby tried to tell her.

"Whatever, let's go," Weiss dismissed, "I still need to find an _actual_ partner, and I won't be responsible for leaving a child in the Emerald Forest."

Ruby watched Weiss strut away. _Sigh_ , "this is going to be interesting…"

* * *

It was a peaceful stroll through the forest. Weiss, ever proper and classy, led with a confident strut and her head held high. Ruby kept pace behind her with a more comfortable gait and her hands behind her head. Her eyes turned upward and remained fixed on the canopy for several minutes. "Um, Weiss? Ozpin said the artifacts were north, right?"

"He did," Weiss answered.

"Mhmm," Ruby nodded, "aaand it's still morning right now, right?"

"Where are you going with this?" Weiss asked abruptly.

"If we're supposed to find a _northern_ temple, why have we been walking west for the past twenty minutes?"

Weiss's strut stopped short as she turned toward her companion. "Excuse me?"

"Look at the sunbeams coming through the canopy. It looks like the sun is _that_ way," Ruby pointed behind them. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, Remnant's sun rises in the east, right?"

Weiss looked toward the canopy in disbelief. "I do believe you are correct."

"So, north is _that_ way," Ruby pointed what would indeed be north by her logic.

"I… do believe you are correct..." Weiss sighed. _Did I really just get shown up by a child?_ "We'll have to retreat east somewhat to make up the distance," she quickly tried to recover.

"Or we can fly?" Ruby shrugged.

"Or we can- _what_!?" Weiss's eyes widened. "How exactly are we supposed to do that!?"

"Did you not see my entrance back with the Beowolves?" Ruby raised an eyebrow. She only suggested it because she thought she already blew that secret. But if Weiss didn't notice, maybe she should backpedal? _Though, that might be_ more _suspicious… and she would keep calling me a liar._

"So what, your semblance allows you to fly?" Weiss shook her head.

"Not quite," Ruby summoned Crescent Rose, "but it does allow me to do _this_."

"Where did that come from?" Weiss asked. She didn't get an answer. Instead she watched as Ruby threw the weapon in the air and it came back down looking similar to the villain's flying machine from the Arachno-Guy movie.

Ruby hopped on, making sure to leave room on the footpads for her partner's feet. "It'll be tight, and you'll have to accept holding on to me, but I think we can manage?"

"Ruby… what exactly _is_ your semblance?" Weiss asked.

"Spatial Manipulation," Ruby answered with her and Yang's practiced story. "It took a long time to make it work with my weapon, but I'm pretty good at it now."

Weiss didn't look like she entirely believed her, but it's not like she had a better explanation. The heiress climbed on and wrapped her arms around Ruby's middle. "I swear to the Brothers, if you let me fall, I will destroy you."

Ruby smirked, "Up, up and away!"

Weiss screamed as the glider launched off above the canopy. Only once she felt them slow down did she dare open her eyes. However incredible the view was, Weiss's attention was focused on just how far above the canopy they had already gotten. Her hold of Ruby's middle tightened. "O-oh my… h-h-holy…"

"Woah," Ruby voice strained in response to the heiress near-vice grip. "Afraid of heights?"

"Of course not!" Weiss defended, "But we are standing on a… a… _drone_ with no kind of fastener to secure us, three hundred feet above the forest! How are we even still on this thing!? How do you control it!?"

"I think I see the temple!" Ruby pointed to a stone ruin in a nearby clearing.

Weiss saw it too. "Great! Can we set down now!?"

"Sure, if you don't mind walk-"

A scream cut Ruby off. Weiss noticed her companion's mood shift. "Did that come from the temple?"

"Sorry, Weiss," Ruby deadpanned, "but hold on tight."

Weiss heard a noise from the glider that sounded like something charging up. "Oh no." 'Blasting off' was the only way to describe their acceleration. They flew off, faster than the first time, rocketing towards the temple and the sounds of battle.


	9. Initiation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've tried to keep to Thursday and Sunday uploads, but the next chapter may be delayed.
> 
> In better news, I am really proud of this chapter! If you want some background music for the fight scene, I recommend 'Wave of Darkness' from the KH3 soundtrack. I listened to that on repeat to boost myself while writing it!

Yang stared down the mass of pulp that used to be a Grimm Ursa. The beast had managed to cut a piece of her hair off, and she gave the monster what it deserved. Shining red eyes turned to another Ursa nearby. "You want some too!?"

_Shtick_

The remaining Ursa froze up and fell over. A black blade stuck in its spine. A ribbon stretched from the blade's handle to the hand of the blade's wielder close by. A girl with long black hair and a black bow. She stepped forward and sheathed her sword. "Hey, partner. My name is Blake Belladonna."

Yang's first instinct was to say a sarcastic and cocky remark. Before she could throw out whatever line her brain had written up, a different instinct quickly overpowered it. "Oh, no..."

Blake was trying very hard not to be offended. "Something wrong?"

Yang quickly realized her mistake. "No no no! I'm sure you're fine, great even! I… I was just hoping to partner with my sister."

Blake's offense dissipated. "I don't have much family, but I can understand wanting to partner with someone you know and trust."

"Oh, thank the gods," Yang sighed in relief, "I thought I seriously messed up our friendship before we even had one! I'm Yang Xiao Long, by the way!"

"Good to meet you," Blake smiled.

"I guess we should be looking for that temple now?" Yang suggested.

"I saw it as I fell," Blake mentioned, "I believe it's this way."

"After you, partner!" Yang followed Blake through the forest.

They strolled in comfortable silence through the forest. Yang couldn't tell what was on her new partner's mind, but she very well knew what was on her own. _I'm not partnered with Ruby, which means Ruby isn't partnered with me. Which means Ruby is going to have to keep secrets from whoever she does partner with now. Crap._

They broke the tree line and walked into a very large clearing with a stone structure in the center. "Oh, wow, here already?" Yang remarked, "That was easy."

"Well, it's not like this place is very hard to find," Blake agreed.

The pair stepped into the small ruin to see chess pieces set upon pedestals. Yang looked over them until a golden knight caught her eye. "How about a cute little pony!?"

"Sure," Blake smiled and shrugged. "So, what's ne-"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Both girls turned toward the scream to see a blond boy hurtling out of the tress. He landed hard on the ground and rolled limply for a few feet. They ran over to him to see if he was alright. Blake did a quick visual pat down, "I think his aura took the brunt of the hit. He must have had a lot, but I doubt there's much left after _that_."

"Ugh..." The boy opened his eyes. "Pyrrha…? Pyrrha!" He jumped to his feet to stare at the treeline. Yang and Blake looked as well.

The forest was shaking. Trees were falling over like they were being bulldozed. "What exactly threw you?" Blake asked nervously.

A crimson haired woman broke through the bushes, running like her life depended on it. The trees along the treeline were uprooted by massive claws that _threw_ the solid trees – trunks, roots and all – toward the gathered initiates. Blake pushed her partner out of the path of the tree. She then used her semblance to create a disposable 'shadow clone' to kick off of, pushing herself out of the tree's path in the opposite direction to her partner.

This left Yang sprawled on the ground, alone, staring down the monster that tore up an entire section of the Emerald Forest. She had seen Giant Deathstalkers before, in diagrams and on television. _This_ was at least twice as large as anything recorded. Six massive armored legs punctured the ground as it walked. A pair of devastating pincer claws that looked like they could cleanly shear steel. And a huge black stinger, thin but powerful with Grimm-like smoke coming off it. There was also something on the creature's face plate. An icon of some kind, a black heart with a red cross within it. Yang could have sworn she had seen that symbol somewhere, but where?

There was no time to ponder that as the creature struck. Its stinger flew faster than anything that size had any right to, directly at the blonde. She didn't have time to move. She shut her eyes. The air in front of her displaced and she heard the stinger hit something. But… did it hit her? She opened her eyes slowly. A fearful tear fell free only for those fears to be immediately assuaged. A red cloak filled her view.

"Ruby!" A smile found Yang's face. The young girl held Crescent Rose horizontally, one hand on the handle in the other supporting the top of the blade. The point of the stinger dug into the side of the shaft, but no matter how strong it was, it wasn't going to break a Keyblade any time soon.

That's not to say it was easy. Ruby felt her muscles struggling against the sheer strength behind the stinger. She pushed herself, and managed to knock the stinger back and away. The creature geared the black spire for another attack and launched it toward her. Better prepared, Ruby swung at the offending appendage, knocking it aside for it to bury into the ground inches from Yang's leg.

Ruby turned to her sister. "Are you okay!?"

"Yeah..." Yang nodded.

Ruby roughly pulled her sister to her feet, "then it's time to _go_." She looked around to see Blake and called out, "That means you as well! Come on!"

Blake didn't even have time to let her shock stall her. The monster pulling its stinger out of the ground quickly kicked her fight-or-flight into high gear and she ran after her partner and the strange red girl. Soon enough, the heiress Schnee also fell into step beside them as they ran. "What's going on!?" Weiss was quick to ask.

"Yeah, what kind of mutant Deathstalker is _that_!?" Yang added.

"Yang," Ruby spoke calmly, "that's not a Deathstalker."

"Well, no duh," Yang nearly laughed, "How mutated can something be and still be considered..." Her worlds trailed off as a realization hit. She knew where had seen that symbol before. From a book, but not any book from Remnant. _One of Ruby's books. That thing is a Heartless._ "Oh crap. In that case, what do we do, Rubes?"

"We keep running," Ruby spoke in no uncertain terms.

"What!? No!" Weiss objected, "I still need a relic!"

"Is that really more important than your _LIFE_!?" Ruby scolded. Her tone of voice alone shut the heiress up.

"Um, running might not be option!" Blake cut in, prompting the other three to look forward. They skidded to a stop just short of a massive ravine separating the Emerald Forest from the cliff they launched off of.

"Great..." Ruby sighed.

"How tough can one Grimm be?" Weiss shrugged, "The school would have cleared out anything truly dangerous."

"Tell that to the forest it cut down like it was a front lawn," Blake shot.

The four girls turned and saw the Heartless still advancing on them. Ruby used a low-magic skill that allowed her to gauge her opponents strength and remaining energy, Scan. There was a bit of damage from when she redirected its stinger, but she might as well have spit at a tidal wave for all it really did. "I don't know that I can do this, Yang. I've never taken on something this big without Master Kairi with me."

"Do you two know each other?" Blake caught on, looking between Yang and Ruby.

Before she could get an answer, pink explosions littered the Heartless from behind. Ruby managed to peek around the creature to see the blond and crimsonette from earlier, as well as someone with short dark hair and green clothing next to a girl with orange hair, pink clothing and a grenade launcher. The pink girl waved at them, shouting, "We've got your back!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!?" Ruby's hands went to her head.

"I'm guessing we're not letting them fight that thing alone?" Blake asked, not bothering to hide the slight fear in her voice. The Heartless slowly turned to face the new aggressors.

"Well, eight of us might a have chance," Ruby planned desperately, "As long as we don't let it focus on any one of us for too long. But it'll take a while..."

"Why are we listening to her?" Weiss suddenly cut in. "She's not even a student!"

"Yes she is," Yang's brow arched, "what makes you think she isn't?"

"She's too young!" Weiss shouted.

"She was invited by Professor Ozpin," Blake defended.

All three girls turned to face her, and Blake realized she made a mistake. Ruby was the one to ask, "Yes, but how do _you_ know that?"

"I… may have overheard your discussion with him last night," Blake confessed meekly.

"You're saying this _child_ is actually attending, actually my partner, and… and..." Weiss's demeanor suddenly softened. "And she was personally invited by the headmaster?" That changed the heiress's entire outlook on the young girl. Perhaps she was luckier than she had spent the morning assuming. _Even Pyrrha Nikos couldn't get in early._

"Ummm, you _do_ have _our_ back, right!?"

Ruby refocused at the pink girl's cries. "There'll be time for this later. Right now, we have work to do!"

The pink girl in question had morphed her grenade launcher into a greathammer to defend herself against the creature's massive claws. It wasn't often Nora Valkyrie admitted she was in over her head, but perhaps _just this once_ she bit off more than she can chew. At least those other four girls were coming to help them now. Hopefully someone had a better idea than just swinging and hoping soon.

Blake pulled out her blade, making sure the ribbon was secure on her arm. She tossed the blade to Yang. "When I say so, jump." Yang affirmed with a nod.

The pair ran past the creature. Blake dug her heels into the ground and held the ribbon taut. "Jump!" Yang had guessed her partner's plan, and used a blast from her gauntlet to aid her propulsion. The blonde swung a wide arc around Blake, letting go of her sword at the right moment to fly right past the Heartless's claws and at its head. She landed fist-first, firing two rounds right onto its emblem. Unfortunately, this also bounced Yang right off the monster. She fell aside between its legs, and had to roll out to avoid being skewered by its stride.

While the creature was distracted by the blonde, Blake ducked between its legs on the other side and approached the face. She drew her sheath from her back, which itself was sharpened into a cleaver. With a blade in each hand, the bow-headed girl carved into the beast with rapid strikes. The monster had enough of people attacking its face. It scurried backward and lashed out at Blake. Blake barely avoided the stinger by jumping back with a shadow clone, before using another to jump upward over one of its claws. Its other claw found its mark as she was in the air, however, and she was thrown backward and sent rolling across the ground.

Weiss and the crimsonette, Pyrrha Nikos, rushed the beast next. Weiss created a path of glyphs for both her and Pyrrha that sped their movement. They were blurs as they charged weapon-first, Weiss with her rapier and Pyrrha with a spear. The Heartless made to cover its face with its claws, and the two girls were forced to attack the appendages to try and open its face back up. The heiress powered her blade with Dust while Pyrrha relied on her raw strength through her weapon to damage the claws. They didn't seem to be doing any visual damage, but the creature did slowly reveal itself once more.

Ruby took her turn next, running past her partner and the crimsonette to take advantage of the opening they made. The Heartless tried to scurry away again. Not having any of that, Ruby opted to jump onto the monster's faceplate and raised Crescent Rose. The Heartless started to shake its body, and Ruby had to defer her assault in order to hang on. Sensing that shaking alone wasn't doing what it wanted, the Heartless once again displayed its impressive speed to spin as well.

It kicked up a gust of wind that pushed everyone back, and Ruby was sent flying off it toward the trees. Ruby was quickly heading for a bad meeting with a tree trunk, but quickly realized how she could turn this around. Red Flowmotion energy enveloped her. She struck the tree Keyblade-first and began to twirl around it, picking up speed. When she kicked off, she was a glowing red blur heading straight for the Heartless. She held the point of her weapon ahead of her and began a horizontal pirouette, and _drilled_ into the side of the creature's head.

The Flowmotion energy died, and Ruby kicked off the Heartless to try and escape danger. One of the claws came directly for her anyways, and she held her Keyblade up to guard. Ruby bounced off the claw's attack and was propelled away, landing on her feet and sliding backwards across the ground. As Nora and her green-dressed friend, Lie Ren, passed her on either side, she Scanned the Heartless again. She was surprised. They had done more damage to it than she thought they would by now. Not enough to fill her with bold confidence, but enough to give her hope that they may all survive.

Lie Ren possessed a pair of small SMGs that did little more than annoy the monster, but annoy was all he wanted to do. He jumped through an open claw, ran across its back, weaved between its legs, all while peppering it with useless bullets. All to keep its attention away from Nora, who was running around its right side. Apparently, the hammer-wielder was tired of attacking the beast the same old way and took aim for one of its legs, blasting it with a grenade as her hammer-head-launcher connected. Ruby, still Scanning, watched a large chunk of the Heartless's energy suddenly vanish. "Haha! I broke its leg!" Nora cheered.

"It's legs are a weak spot?" Ruby noted.

The blond boy, Jaune Arc, noticed this as well. He noticed that the plate Nora attacked had given and cracked. The leg it was attached to shook as if struggling to do its part to support the body. The boy, who had so far done nothing but shake in his boots with a weak grasp on his sword, caused Ruby yet more surprise when he laid out a strategy. "If we can immobilize it, we might be able to concentrate fire and do some _real_ damage!" Ruby's surprise must have been clear on her face, because he followed up with an unsure, "Right…?"

Ruby nodded and took it upon herself to turn his strategy into a plan. "Hammer Girl! Keep attacking the legs! Yang, you're a heavy hitter, right? Help her! Everyone else, keep it from focusing on the two of them. Once it's down, load your strongest ammo and open fire on its face!" Everyone nodded. Ruby stared the creature down and settled back into her combat stance. "May our hearts be our guiding key..."

Yang used her gauntlets to launch herself forward. A claw came swinging to meet her as she ran. Bullets from no less than three different guns, judging by the three different colors of impact flashes, staggered the claw long enough to Yang to safely roll underneath it and continue to its left legs. In order to save her strongest ammunition for later, she loaded her _second_ strongest ammo and began to beat upon the leg plates.

Ruby and Weiss ran forward together. As they didn't have traditional firearms to safely and cheaply attack from a distance, they moved in to occupy its claws from melee range. While Weiss was a competent melee fighter, her weapon wasn't designed for constant slashing against thick shields. The heiress found herself at a disadvantage. She was saved a few times when the beast staggered to Nora and Yang's systematic destruction of its primary support limbs, but one time the claw struck true and laid her out across the ground.

"Weiss!" Ruby was quick to see what had happened, as well as the stinger coming for the fallen girl. She dodged away from her own claw and rushed to her partners side with a straight-leg slide. She held Crescent Rose above them and cast "Reflera!" The stinger hit the light barrier and bounced off as it burst. Undeterred, the Heartless dropped its stinger once again. Ruby was in a better position this time and was able to safely push her partner away before rolling the opposite direction and allowing the stinger to pierce the ground between them. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Weiss caught her breath, "Thank you Ruby."

"Fall back," Ruby ordered, "Yang and Hammer Girl are nearly done anyway."

Weiss nodded and the pair retreated together to rejoin the others.

After doing two already, Yang could feel when the plate of her last leg was about to give. With one last punch, she broke through and critically damaged her final assigned limb. On the other side, Nora was giggling and spinning with her hammer held out, coming closer to the final leg. Another pink explosion from her grenades crippled this last appendage. The Heartless could no longer support itself and collapsed limply to the ground.

"Now!"

Various clicks sounded as magazines were loaded, rounds were chambered, and Weiss spun her rapier's cylinder. Multiple small glyphs appeared around the heiress, and Ruby raised Crescent Rose straight in front of her. Bullets, grenades, small fireballs from Weiss's attacks and larger fireballs from Ruby's filled the air. The noise effectively covered up Ruby's repeated shouts of 'Fira!' All the while, the Keyblade wielder kept one eye on the Heartless's energy with Scan, watching it drop like a stone.

Guns were emptied. Ruby's magic power reserve ran dry along with Weiss's Burn Dust and a good portion of her Lightning. The air became still as the Heartless shuddered one last time, and collapsed. It faded quickly in a black cloud and a large, crystalline heart emerged from the smoke and dissipated into the air.

"Woah, what was that?" Nora stared wide eyed.

"Never mind that!" Yang quickly deflected, "We actually took that thing down! I seriously thought we didn't stand a chance! Half a chance!"

"It's all because of our teamwork," Weiss tried to take control of the scene.

"And Red here takin' charge!" Nora threw an arm over Ruby's shoulder while unintentionally decimating whatever hope Weiss had to place herself on top. "Seriously, if we're not already top of the class after this, I'm throwing tables."

Ruby shrugged out of Nora's grasp, not liking the sudden attention. "D-don't forget it was his plan," she quickly gestured to Jaune, "All I did was… flesh it out!"

"It was?" Jaune sounded genuinely surprised to be given any credit at all. A smile grew on his face. "I guess it was, huh?"

Ruby backed away from the group. She felt another arm invade the space across her shoulders, and looked up to scowl at the arms owner. Her sister was unfazed by the glare. "Proud of you, sis."

Ruby's gaze softened. She looked around to make sure no one was listening before quietly confiding, "Yeah… but I had to go all out against that Heartless. A lot of stuff I was hoping to keep under wraps. Non-elemental magic, Flowmotion… If we end up in more battles like that, I don't know how long I can keep things quiet. I knew coming here was a bad idea..."

"Hey, things'll look up," Yang assured. "I mean, the only chance we have of running into something like that again is if we're out in the wild, right? First years spend almost the entire year on-campus. We don't get missions 'till the second semester. And you might be gone by then. Oh, hey partner!" Yang watched Blake break away from the larger group and walk their way, and announced it for Ruby's sake.

"Partner, huh?" Ruby smiled.

"Indeed. I take it you're Yang's sister?" Blake asked.

"Allow me!" Yang jumped away from her sister and made a dramatic show of things with exaggerated movements and accents. "Blake Belladonna, meet Ruby Rose. MmmRuby, my partner Blake!"

Ruby shook Blake's hand with a "Good luck."

"Thanks," Blake grinned.

"Ruby!" Weiss called out hurriedly. She jogged over to the young wielder and grabbed her hand. "We still need a relic! Now that that thing is gone, we can go back to the northern temple! Let's go!"

"Relic?" Jaune asked. "Relic!" he realized, and took off. He was shortly followed by Pyrrha, Ren and Nora.

"Ah, kids these days, right?" Yang smiled.

"They are all our age," Blake pointed out.

"Ruby's younger!" Yang countered.

"And arguably more mature than half the others we just fought with," Blake argued. "If I didn't know any better, I'd have guessed she'd already been at Beacon for a few years. Where did she train?"

"Very far away," Yang answered vaguely. To brush questions off, she shouted at the retreating initiates, "HEY, LAST ONE UP THE CLIFF IS A ROTTEN EEEEEGG!"

"We already have our relic," Blake reminded her, "Doesn't that put the others at a serious disadvantage?"

"So we're sure to win!" Yang grinned smugly and started jogging away, "Come on!"

Blake smiled, shook her head and made to follow her partner, but couldn't help taking a look back Ruby's way. Two days ago she had finally managed to convince herself the girl that fell from the sky was some kind of sleep deprivation hallucination. Yesterday the girl was standing in front of her once again, talking about meeting real princesses.

After following her all day yesterday and learning nothing, she should be happy she finally managed to get _some_ solid information today. But what she knew only left more questions. Just who was Ruby Rose? Maybe being partnered with her supposed sister would be the best way to sate her curiosity.

* * *

Beacon staff weren't the only ones watching the fight with interest. A ways down the cliff side the students were launched from, another observer stood. A long black coat with a wide zipper and elaborate silver drawstrings hung tightly from their thin, seemingly male figure. A low hood kept their features indiscernible. A young, androgynous voice spoke to itself…

"So… There _is_ a surviving Key Bearer on this world. They were all supposed to fall."

The figure turned on their heel to step away, crossing one arm across their chest to hold the other.

"They were all supposed to fall, I don't know if I can deal with this..."

Darkness seeped out of their arms, shoulders and back like steam. As it passed by their ears, it sounded to them like whispers. Their grip on their arm tightened.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense... I'll just have to follow my darkness… hehe… hehehe..."

A portal of darkness burst out of the ground, a Dark Corridor. They stepped through the black oval, which closed behind them. The last evidence of the person's presence was a briefly lingering sound of uneasy laughter.


	10. Team RWBY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not quite caught up yet, but I don't want to leave my readers with nothing. So here's the next chapter. You'll get more next Thursday at the latest, barring unforeseen interruptions.

Their initiation had been successful, as if there was any doubt. And now they were enduring a kind of entrance ceremony where they were given their teams and one member among these teams would be made team leader. Ruby wondered if her leader would be Weiss or Blake. The possibility of it being Yang never crossed her mind in a serious manner.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrhha Nikos, and Lie Ren."

She watched the four people they fought with earlier take the stage, and she was finally able to put names to faces. Those names and faces were labeled clearly on the large screens above the stage. As Professor Ozpin gave a short speech, the portraits shifted and all the lettering save given initials faded away. The picture arranged itself as J-N-P-R.

"-Team 'Juniper'. Led by, Jaune Arc."

"Wow," Ruby said aloud, "Maybe you have a chance after all, sis."

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long." Ozpin called next.

"I guess we'll find out!" Yang teased.

The four names girls made their way onto the stage where they stood across from the headmaster. "The four of you obtained the White Knight pieces. From this day forward you shall work together as team 'Ruby'." Their portraits and lettering on the big screen shifted for them as it had for JNPR, arranging itself R-W-B-Y. "Led by, Ruby Rose."

"...What!?" Ruby was as shocked as Weiss, if not more so.

As they were the last team to be formed, Ozpin gave one last speech before dismissing the students for the night. Ruby turned to her team with a, "I'll be right back," before running after the headmaster. She found him walking toward his office with Professor Goodwitch in tow. "Professor? Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin turned around, seemingly happy to address the new leader. "Ah, Ms. Rose. Congratulations are in order."

"Congratulations?" Ruby shook her head. "Professor, I can't be team leader."

"Why not?" Ozpin shrugged, feigning ignorance. "You displayed courage, humility, an understanding of your limits, the will to _pass_ those limits, and a level head in a dangerous situation in the Emerald Forest today. Many of our greatest figures in history could only wish to possess _all_ these traits. Who else could I have picked?"

"Weiss?" Ruby suggested, "Sure, she still has a thing or two to learn about dealing with people, but what better place to learn those lessons than trying to be in charge of my sister? She would really benefit. Experience could make her a great leader. In time."

"What purpose would there be in assigning someone who still lacks leadership qualities over a readily available option who is a much clearer choice?" Ozpin argued.

"Because I'm not 'readily available'!" Ruby reminded him, "I told you I won't be here forever! Making me leader will only make it unfair to my team when I have to leave."

Ozpin stood tall, looking the young redhead dead in the eye. "And when are you leaving?"

"I… I..." Ruby's gaze faltered. "I don't know. B-but that doesn't change anything!"

"Except it does," Ozpin countered. "As far as I am aware, you may very well be here all four years. And, well, I would be remiss to not take advantage of the presence of such a skilled student as yourself."

Ruby sighed heavily. "You're not changing your mind, are you?"

Ozpin answered with a soft smile. "I assure I have no intentions of being an antagonist, Ms. Rose. I am merely acting on the options as I am aware of them. I only ask that you take your leadership duties seriously for as long as you have them."

Ruby crossed her arms and walked away without another word.

Glynda would not silent about her thoughts on the interaction. "Professor Ozpin, you wouldn't happen to be placing responsibility on that young lady's shoulders in the hopes it will force her to remain here should her teacher return?"

"I did not say anything to Ms. Rose that was not the truth, Glynda," Ozpin answered.

"But was it the _whole_ truth, Ozpin?" Glynda pressed. The headmaster remained silent. "If Ms. Rose is truly magical, I agree we must learn what we can. But that doesn't mean I approve of your methods."

"And you think I do?" Ozpin confessed. "Our organization exists to protect the world from the threat a rouge maiden can pose. And while Ms. Rose is no maiden, her abilities are no less dangerous. We must strive to understand them."

"I highly doubt Ms. Rose is a threat," Glynda scowled.

"If I believed she were, she would _not_ be freely walking the halls of my academy," Ozpin assured.

"Then perhaps honesty will lead to cooperation?" Glynda theorized.

"If she wished to be honest, her and her family wouldn't avoid questions about her nature," Ozpin explained, "and there's our own secrets to consider. We keep them for a reason."

"Then perhaps she does too," Glynda pointed out.

"And so we shall continue this dance," Ozpin nodded.

Glynda understood. She didn't like it, but she understood.

* * *

Weiss was still frustrated when she woke up the next morning. She understood Ruby was good, the girl was invited by Ozpin himself after all. But _Weiss_ had spent years training specifically for a leadership role. _Weiss_ had spent years studying what made a leader great. _Weiss_ should have been named leader of their team.

And the worst part? Ruby didn't even seem to appreciate the honor! The first thing she did was try and step down! And why didn't Ozpin let her? Didn't that fact alone prove she wasn't leadership material? _And where is she now!?_

When Weiss opened her eyes, the first thing she looked for was her 'leader'. She noted Blake was awake and dressed, Yang was still asleep, and Ruby's bed wasn't just empty, it was neatly made. It didn't sound like anyone was in the attached bathroom either. The heiress scowled.

"What the matter, Weiss?" Blake asked, drawing the heiress's attention.

"Where is our leader?" Weiss asked in return.

Blake raised one eyebrow at her. "Do you need her permission to stand up and start your day?"

"What!? Of course not!" Weiss reeled.

"Then I don't see why her not being here right now is an issue," Blake shrugged and returned to what she was doing before Weiss woke up, putting her books away on their shared bookshelf. "We don't even have class for another hour and a half."

"It doesn't concern you that she's not here to lead us? Not off to the best start is she?" Weiss continued.

"Lead us through what?" Blake pointed out. Weiss didn't have a vocal answer to that. "Wouldn't it concern you more if she was oppressively micromanaging us? I'll save my concerns for if she isn't back before class, but even then I don't need to her to hold my hand and take me to my seat. Do you?"

Yang yawned loudly, turning over to face Blake and Weiss with only one eye open. "Wass you two talkin' 'bout?"

Weiss's frown returned. "Perhaps you can enlighten us on where your sister has vanished to?"

"Suns up, right?" Yang yawned again. "She probably found a quiet corner outside somewhere to run herself through drills."

"...Drills?" Weiss's face was unreadable. "She gets up at sunrise to train?"

"She prefers to do it first thing in the morning. Says it wakes her up for the rest of the day," Yang explained.

Blake stared at the cover of the book in her hands. _Is that the truth? Or is it a taught behavior from her secret teacher? I can't ask, or I'll be called out for eavesdropping again…_

The door opened and the leader herself entered the dorm room. She noticed everyone was awake. "Oh, good morning!"

"Mornin' sis!" Yang greeted.

"Good morning, Ruby," Blake nodded.

"Were you really training?" Weiss asked.

"Weiss..." Blake shook her head.

Ruby answered regardless, "I wouldn't call it training. Just an hour or two of basic drills. Why?"

Weiss looked away. "No reason. I'm getting in the shower."

* * *

"Do I really have to wear this?" Ruby asked, staring solemnly into the full-length mirror Weiss brought with her.

Yang, still stifling yawns, looked over to her litter sister standing stiffly in the black blazer and plaid skirt that made up the Beacon school uniform. "Relax, Ruby, it's not that bad."

Ruby peeked over her shoulder. Blake was engrossed in a book and Weiss was still in the bathroom. "I feel naked..." she whispered.

"Excuse me?" Yang giggled.

"I mean… vulnerable!" Ruby whisper-shouted. "You know my clothes have protective enchantments. This is just… cloth..."

Yang scratched the back of her head. "The jacket and skirt are the important part of the uniform, right? I'm sure you wont get in trouble if you wear your boots and gauntlet. I know it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing?"

"I was going to wear my gauntlet anyway. But you really think they won't mind if I wear my boots?" Ruby looked over to the armored footwear.

"If they do, screw them. Oz practically begged you to come here," Yang shot her sister a smug smile. "I bet you could get away with all sorts of stuff."

"You kinda have a point there," Ruby smiled and went to change her footwear.

Weiss emerged as Ruby was slipping on her broken vambrace. "You're not really wearing that gaudy thing with your uniform?"

"Gaudy?" Ruby asked. "What do you mean?"

"It's awkward and bulky and… broken," Weiss elaborated.

"No, I meant what does the word 'gaudy' mean?" Ruby clarified. "Though… I guess that still answer my question..."

"You cannot be serious..." Weiss lamented under her breath, " _This_ is my leader…?" The heiress cleared her throat and spoke louder, "Beacon allows personality with your daily wear, but only so much."

Ruby looked down at the broken plate. "I've worn this every day for over two years," Ruby explained. "The weight is… comforting. I can't imagine going about my day without it."

Weiss gave the armor piece another visual pass. "Well, if it's so important to you why don't you at least fix it?"

A sad look passed behind Ruby's eyes. "If only I knew how..." She tightened the last fastener and looked at the clock. Eight-thirty. Her eyes flicked over to her sister stepping into the bathroom. "Class is in half an hour, Yang. We should be leaving in about fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, yeah," the blonde seemingly ignored her sister.

"Yang!" Ruby called after her. The bathroom door shut. _Sigh._

"You should probably try a firmer hand," Weiss suggested proudly. _Can't even get her team in order._

Ruby snickered. "You're welcome to try."

"Very well," Weiss smirked triumphantly and bee-lined for the bathroom.

Ruby caught Blake's attention. "We should probably leave."

"That bad?" Blake asked.

"Trust me," Ruby nodded.

They only made it about ten feet from the dorm before Weiss was literally thrown through the doorway into the hall. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU ABSOLUTE _OAF_!"

"Wow," Blake stared. "Any advice for dealing with my partner's anger? She is your sister."

"Yeah," Ruby smiled, "don't make her angry."

"That's good advice," Blake nodded. "So how do I not make her angry?"

Ruby thought for a moment. "Don't mess with her hair."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Blake contemplated. "So showers must be important to her as well. To wash her hair."

"Yup," Ruby nodded again.

"Which is why Weiss is currently on the ground," Blake concluded.

"But _why_ is she still on the ground?" Ruby wondered.

"I think she's being dramatic?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Eh," Ruby shrugged. She called out to the heiress, "See you in class, Weiss!"

* * *

"Monsters! Deeeemons... Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as _prey_! Ha-ha!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake were seated in the classroom of Professor Peter Port, who was currently giving a grand welcoming speech. Most of the class was already asleep. Weiss was doing her best to dutifully pay attention, but she kept getting distracted. Mainly by Ruby, who was clearly not paying attention. All Weiss had seen all morning was more evidence that Ruby should _not_ have been named leader, and now she wasn't even listening to their teacher?

"Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces! And that's where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses. Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves! From what, you ask? Why, _the very world_!"

Yang burst into the room at that very moment, breathing heavily. "Sorry I'm late, Professor!"

Professor Port looked Yang's way. "Ms. Xiao Long, I presume?"

"Uh, yeah?" Yang nodded uneasily.

"I would like to have a word with you after class," Port informed her, "Please find your seat."

"Already?" _Groan_ , "Yes sir..."

Weiss smirked. Maybe she had no authority to punish Yang, but a teacher certainly did. _Ruby technically does as well, but she clearly has no intention to._

"As I was saying..." Professor Port continued as Yang sat next to her partner.

Weiss tried to listen, but was soon once again watching Ruby _not pay attention_. The girl was flipping through pages in her Grimm Studies book without even _thinking_ to listen to the Professor.

"-A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsmen must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise! So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

"I do, sir!"

Weiss's voice next to Ruby brought her head out of the book.

"Well, then, let's find out! Step forward, and face your opponent!" Port gestured to a cage next to him that contained what could only be a live Grimm. Within minutes Weiss was dressed out in her combat gear, her sword at the ready, at the front of the class facing the cage.

"Gooooo Weiss!" Yang shouted.

"Fight well!" Blake cheered.

"Good luck, Weiss!" Ruby offered.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus!" Weiss scowled at her 'leader'.

Ruby shared a confused look with her other two team mates. They just shrugged.

Port raised his battleaxe. "Let the match… begin!" He brought down the weapon onto the cages lock. The cage fell open to reveal a Grimm that looked like a wild hog with heavy plating and large tusks. A quick glance at the whiteboard told Ruby this was a 'Boartusk'. The Boatusk charged right out of its cage at Weiss. The heiress artfully dodged to one side, slashing at the Grimm as it passed. Ruby could tell the strike was meant to be heavy, but it merely glanced off the creatures thick armor.

"Oh ho! Wasn't expecting that, were you?" Port smiled.

Weiss charged at the Boartusk herself, thrusting her weapon in front of her. Ruby watched intently. _It'_ _s_ _a risky move, but if she could get her thin blade between the plates_ … However, the heiress's aim hit the center of the Grimm's mask. Not only did her blade once again bounce off while dealing no damage, it managed to become wedged between in the creature's tusks. Weiss yanked on her weapon to free it but only managed to further lock it in place.

"Something's not right," Ruby noted. "Weiss is better than this. She's not thinking clearly."

"She does seem frustrated," Blake agreed.

Ruby couldn't idly watch anymore. "Let go, Weiss! Before it-"

In the time it took for Weiss to shoot Ruby a dirty look at daring to speak up, the Boartusk jerked its head and tossed the heiress and her weapon to opposite ends of the room.

"Before it throws you..." Ruby finished under her breath.

"Now what will you do without your weapon?" Port himself asked. It almost seemed like the teacher intentionally trying push Weiss's frustration further.

Weiss managed to dodge the Boartusk's follow up and reclaim her weapon. She scrambled to her feet to stare down the beast once again.

Ruby gave the Grimm another visual pat down. "Weiss, there's no armor on it's belly! Attack from underneath!"

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss shouted at Ruby with furious eyes.

Ruby reeled back in her seat and frowned. _So that's how it is._

The Boartusk leapt, curled into a ball, and started rolling at the heiress at high speed. Weiss managed to use a glyph to block the attack and put the Grimm onto its back. She then summoned a glyph behind her and jumped onto it, using it to spring herself at the beast's stomach and skewer it. The beast fell still and began to dissolve as the heiress caught her breath.

Professor Port began an applause. "Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress-in-training!"

Weiss stood proudly and shot Ruby one last dirty look as Professor Port dismissed the class.

"Ugh, I have to stay behind..." Yang moaned.

Ruby's eyes were on the already retreating Weiss. "And I gotta go have a talk with _her_ ," she looked to Blake, "wait for Yang?"

"Sure thing," Blake nodded as Ruby stood to follow her partner.


	11. Leadership

Weiss was fuming internally as she stormed down the hallway. _That insufferable dolt! She finally pretends to be a leader in time to undermine me!? As worse still, I ended up using her advice! What does that say about_ me _!?_

Ruby managed to catch up to the frustrated heiress. "Weiss?" Ruby called. She ignored. "Weiss!? Argh, _Weiss!_ " Ruby grabbed the girl's shoulder and spun her around to face each other.

Weiss looked to Ruby with shock and disgust. "How _Dare_ you!?"

"Well, you did want me to try a firmer hand." Ruby crossed her arms, "What is your problem with me, Weiss?"

"My problem!?" Weiss scowled, "My problem is you're _supposed_ to be our leader, yet you have so far _failed_ to lead us!"

"What?" Ruby shook her head, "It's only been a few hours into our first day! You haven't given me the chance!"

"The chance? The _chance_?" Weiss nearly growled. "Let me tell you about _chance_. I studied for this role. I _trained_ for this role. I came to Beacon knowing everything I needed to know to excel. But by _chance_ , some little girl with no formal combat training and some kind of favoritism from the headmaster took my chance away from me! I should have been team leader, _not you_!"

Ruby waited a moment to be sure Weiss's rant was over before calmly asking, "How exactly do you think I've failed, Weiss?"

"For starters, _where_ were you this morning? Not with your team!" Weiss pointed out. "And then you let your sister get away with slacking off! We didn't get to class together as a team either, and then you spent the entire class not listening to Professor Port! And then, when you finally spoke up, you distracted me from my fight!"

"So I'm not supposed to trust my team to go through morning routines without me? And who says I _haven't_ done something about Yang slacking off?" The young leader shook her head, "Yesterday I would have agreed that you should be leader. But if _this_ is how you're going to act, then you aren't ready."

Weiss stood right in Ruby's face. "Who are _you_ to decide?" the heiress spoke with a quiet venom and pushed Ruby back to stomp away.

* * *

The heiress found her way onto a nearby balcony overlooking the city. The view in front of her was missed as she continued to fume to herself. A clearing throat behind her brought Weiss's attention to the man who had joined her. "Professor Ozpin!" Weiss pushed her negativity aside and smiled at the headmaster.

"Hello, Ms. Schnee," Ozpin greeted.

"This is a pleasant surprise!" Weiss told him. "How are you this morning?"

"I'm well, thank you," Ozpin smiled. "I was hoping to speak with you, actually."

"Really?" Weiss smiled larger. "How can I help you, Professor?"

"It's about your discussion with Ms. Rose I witnessed in the hall a moment ago," Port informed her.

"You saw that?" Weiss crossed her arms. "Does this mean you're going to do something?"

"I already am," Ozpin informed her.

Weiss peeked around to see if Ozpin had dragged Ruby up here with him. Seeing it was only the two of them, she looked back to him, confused. "I don't understand."

"That is the problem," Ozpin spoke bluntly. "You think you know better than others, and refuse to hear any opinion that opposes yours. Especially if it comes from one you deem inferior."

"What are you saying?" Weiss asked.

"Do you deem me inferior?" Ozpin lead.

"Of course not!" Weiss quickly shook her head.

"Good," Ozpin nodded, "Then I know you will listen to me when I say that Ms. Rose is absolutely correct."

Weiss's eyes widened. "Excuse me!? That's ridiculous!"

"And _that_ is exactly what I am talking about," Ozpin continued calmly. "You refuse to accept that you have failed to secure the leadership role. Even now, you believed I had come to your aid, to demote Ms. Rose and place you as leader. Now that I have told you different, you're having difficulty accepting the truth. You indeed displayed skill and heroism in the Emerald Forest. But from what I can infer, you have spent this morning displaying only selfishness and arrogance."

"That's…!" Weiss's face fell. _It's not_ _true_ _… is it?_ "If Ruby really is trying to be a leader, shouldn't she be telling me these things?"

"Would you have listened to her of she tried?" Ozpin pointed out.

Weiss couldn't continue to argue against the _headmaster_. She was forced to accept his words. She wandered absentmindedly to the railing and leaned on it, looking outward with empty eyes. _He's right… of course he's right…_ _Selfish. Arrogant. Exactly how I would describe my father. I left Atlas to get away from all of that…_

Ozpin stepped in place next to Weiss, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Fate did not favor you, and you cannot force fate to change its mind. Trying to tends to lead to behaviors such as the ones you succumbed to today. Instead of lamenting what you don't have, cherish what you do. Just because you are not leader doesn't mean you cannot improve. Whether as a leader, or simply as a _person_ , work hard to become the very best version of yourself."

Weiss nodded, "Thank you, Professor. I have some thinking to do."

* * *

Weiss walked straight to next class, and soon discovered Ruby did the same. The heiress froze in doorway, wondering what she was going to say when she sat next to her partner. Yang and Blake entered the classroom as well, finally prompting Weiss to unglue herself from the doorway and follow the rest of the team to their seats. Weiss avoided her leader's gaze for now.

"Oh, hey Yang," Ruby smirked as her sister sat next to her, "How was your talk with Professor Port?"

"He just gave me a small talk about time management and stuff, telling me he wouldn't be as easy on me if I were late again, the normal," Yang answered. "It's kinda strange, usually teachers let the first day or two slide."

"And you take advantage of it," Ruby nodded.

"Well, yeah! I need my beauty sleep," Yang smirked. "Come to think of it… how did Port know I slept in? I could have been late for valid reasons..."

Ruby only stared at Yang, waiting for the light bulb to go on in her sister's head. _Ding_. "Wow..." Yang was stunned. "I gotta admit, I didn't think you'd take this leader stuff seriously, all things considered..."

"I know. That's kinda why I needed Port to do my dirty work," Ruby told Yang, "I _am_ sorry."

"No, I am," Yang shook her head, "I shoulda listened to you this morning."

Ruby nudged Yang with her elbow, "I love ya, sis."

"Love you too, Rubes," Yang smiled, "I'll set an alarm tonight. Promise."

Weiss felt even guiltier. She had assumed Ruby wouldn't do anything about Yang before, when the young leader had a plan to scare her sister straight the entire time. _Probably_ _went straight to the Professor while I was still fuming on the floor outside our dorm_ _…_

"Hey, Ruby?" Weiss called out.

Ruby's face tensed as she tried to gauge the heiress's tone. Their last conversation didn't end very well. "Yes, Weiss?"

Weiss took a deep breath and asked, "When I suggested trying to force Yang into line this morning… Did you let me try because you believed I might succeed?"

Ruby was still gauging Weiss's intent, and didn't answer right away. "No. I did it because I knew you wouldn't," she finally answered.

Weiss nodded. "I see."

The class began soon after that. Weiss remained silently thinking throughout.

* * *

After classes, Ruby redressed into her enchanted gear and wandered the academy's halls. She tried to keep her thoughts on her first day at Beacon. It was easy to stay distracted in class. She already decided to take her studies somewhat seriously before initiation. Even if she didn't need to graduate she wanted to learn more about her home world. The _real_ curveball was being made leader…

Honestly, she _was_ going to ignore the role. But that morning, during her drills, she thought on it and realized it would only hurt Weiss, Blake and Yang if she did. So she decided to give being a leader her all for as long as she was around. And after today, she was glad she did. If Weiss's behavior earlier at all reflected what she would be like as a leader, the heiress had a lot to learn before taking charge.

Which brought her thoughts to her eventual departure. She did need a backup she could name leader as she left, and she thought she knew who that was. Until the confrontation with said individual after the first class. Now she had to consider whether it was worth trying to teach Weiss, or to hand the team off to Blake when she left.

"When did I start worrying about _teaching_ people?" Ruby shook her head. "I'm supposed to still be in training myself. I guess I'm only a year behind Makoto, and she was supposed to take the Mark of Mastery last week… still..."

Ruby's wandering brought her a narrow stairway in an empty corner. Curious, she ascended and found a locked door that said 'roof access'. She summoned her Keyblade and tapped the door. _Click_. She smiled, dispelled her Keyblade, and opened the now unlocked door to step out onto the rooftop. She approached the edge and sat down, her legs dangling off side. "Now I just need some ice cream…" Her smile fell, "and my friends..."

"There you are."

Ruby looked behind her. "Hey, Weiss."

Weiss walked to the roof's edge and sat down next to Ruby. "I was looking for you. Saw a few red flashes up a stairwell and took a chance."

"What's up?" Ruby asked.

Weiss cast her eyes downward, swallowing her pride. "I wanted to apologize." Ruby turned her body to show Weiss she had her attention, and the heiress continued, "I wanted the leadership role. I expected to get it. When I didn't, I didn't take it well. I spent this morning looking for ways you were failing and willfully ignoring any possibility you deserved the role. And I am sorry."

"Ozpin talked to you, right?" Ruby deduced. "I saw him walk out onto that balcony behind you. I didn't send him, promise, we didn't even speak."

"He did," Weiss nodded, "And whether you sent him or not doesn't matter. It doesn't change the fact that I have been nothing but rude and disrespectful to you since you were named leader. Since we met in forest, even."

Ruby nodded, and they sat in silence for a few moments. Eventually, the leader spoke up, "so what now?"

"Now..." Weiss looked to Ruby, "Now that changes. I promise to do better. I may not be leader, but I _will_ be the very best partner you could ever ask for."

Ruby nodded again. "If that's the case… there's something you should probably know."

"What is it?" Weiss, true to her promise, listened intently.

"At the risk of undermining what you learned today, you still have a chance to be leader," Ruby told her.

Weiss gave Ruby a confused look. "What do you mean? I thought Ozpin won't let you step down."

"I went to a different school before Beacon," Ruby worded carefully, "I guess you can say classes have been… interrupted for a while. The point is, if… _when_ , my teacher comes for me, I'm leaving."

"Leaving Beacon entirely?" Weiss asked.

"And someone's going to have to lead RWBY once I'm gone," Ruby continued. "Yesterday, I thought that could be you. After today, I'd pick Blake instead. But I still _want_ it to be you."

Weiss paused to process this information.

Ruby laid back, putting her hands under her head and staring at the stars. "As your leader, I probably _shouldn't_ be telling you this. But as your partner, I wouldn't feel right keeping this from you. So don't get a big head about it 'kay? I could still pick Blake."

"I understand," Weiss nodded. Every instinct from her upbringing screamed to win at all costs, even if it took dirty tricks. But that wasn't the person Weiss wanted to be. It's _why_ she chose to go to academy half a world away from the stuffed shirts of Atlas and her so-called 'father'. She shoved those instincts deep down and took a calming breath. "Don't worry. I'm going to focus first on being a good huntress and a good partner. In fact, could you wake me up before your morning drills tomorrow? I would like to join you."

"Sure thing," Ruby smiled. The girls fell into a comfortable silence. Weiss didn't leave, and Ruby dared to reach out. "Do you like ice cream?"


	12. Secrets

To any outsider, it would appear Blake became quick friends with her team leader. While Ruby might hesitate to confirm they were friends, she would at least smile and say they got along. The truth, however, is that Blake was studying the strange redhead. She was afraid to just come out and ask her about 'princesses' and her falling out of the sky, mostly because she wasn't sure Ruby remembered her from the beach and she didn't know where to start. After the first week, she came to her first conclusion.

Ruby Rose was frustratingly sane.

Since officially becoming a team, Blake noticed nothing out of the ordinary. It was genuinely maddening to the bow-headed girl. Was _she_ the one going insane? No, Ruby herself was clearly real, other people were interacting with her. So the beach event that took place a week before she met the girl again at Beacon _must_ have been real. The alternative was that Blake dreamed a perfect representation of someone she never met, shortly before meeting them for real.

Another possibility was that Ruby herself was aware of the strangeness surrounding her and was actively hiding it. That _could_ mean the girl was insane and simply aware of her insanity, but again, Blake has been watching carefully for a week. She was fairly certain that was enough time for someone truly insane to slip something nonsensical into conversation by accident through the raw power of chaos theory. But no, not another mention of princesses or the like, just a normal girl.

A normal girl, two years younger than her classmates, with combat skill that out-shined all the first years and most the second years, as well as surprisingly competent leadership skills for someone so young. It made Blake all the more curious about Ruby's previous training, and indeed, about the girl herself. But it was clear to Blake that if she wished to probe her leader's deeper secrets, she was going to have to do more than simply observe.

More frustration came at the realization that Ruby had no personal effects beyond what she wore day to day. She brought no posters, no books, no stuffed animals, nothing that gave any hints. Even her weapon was on her at all times. At least, that's what Blake was supposed to assume. Assuming she bought that 'spatial manipulation' was a real semblance that allowed Ruby to shrink her weapon into nothing in a flash of red light without causing a singularity from the hyper reduction of mass. Then again, apparently there was a kid in Atlas who could duplicate themselves, so who knew.

It left Blake with only one option to learn more – asking questions. And again, she had no idea where to start. If Ruby was intentionally secretive, too blunt a question could result in her stonewalling the inquiry. She was going to have to be careful…

* * *

It was a Friday after classes when it finally happened. Yang had gone to hang out with friends and Weiss was in the library quite possibly studying something they weren't required to study. This left Blake alone with Ruby in RWBY dorm. The bow-headed girl was on her bed with a well-worn book in hand, but she had a difficult time reading. She realized very quickly she was alone in the dorm with her team leader, who was lightly reading over material actually in their curriculum and occasionally looking at a colorful device that looked like a toy scroll from ten years ago.

Blake eventually gathered the courage to ask, "What's that?"

"It's nothing," Ruby answered quickly and pocketed the device.

Blake flinched. That seemed a casual enough question and she was already being shut down. She casually turned a page in her book, if for no other reason than to give off the illusion she was still reading. _What the hell am I supposed to ask?_ "Hey Ruby?"

"Yeah, Blake?"

"Have you ever been to the beach?" Blake asked carefully.

"I grew up on _Patch_ , Blake," Ruby giggled, "It's an island. I could leave my house in two different directions and walk to the beach in ten minutes. I used to sneak out to the beach when I was five."

"What about Vale's beach?" Blake peeked at Ruby's face from over the corner of her book, hoping to gauge the redhead's reaction.

"I mean, sure, once or twice," Ruby shrugged. "Why?"

_Okay, so she_ doesn't _remember me_ , Blake concluded. "I don't know, I guess I just can't help but be curious. Yang isn't quiet about her home life, and who doesn't know where Weiss comes from. But I don't know much about you?"

"Okay..." Ruby turned to Blake slowly, her mind thoughtful. "What about you?"

"Me?" Blake blinked.

"I know Yang, she's my sister," Ruby explained, "And I didn't know about Weiss before meeting her, but the internet is a wonderful thing. But I don't know anything about Blake Belladonna. Well, there is a well known Belladonna family in Menagerie, but their daughter's name isn't public record. Also, they're faunus."

Blake winced imperceptibly. "Wait, did you look _me_ up on the internet?"

"I figured it was only fair, you _did_ eavesdrop on me," Ruby reminded her of her slip up in the Emerald Forest.

Blake's eyes widened. "Oh. You remembered that."

"It stuck out since I was nowhere _near_ the ballroom when I was talking to Professor Ozpin," Ruby explained.

Blake's eyes returned guiltily to the words in her book. "Sorry..."

Ruby frowned. She didn't want to appear that she had secrets to protect, but she _did_ have secrets to protect. "Why were listening in, anyway?"

Blake thought hard on how to answer. _Screw it, cards on the table…_ She took a deep breath to muster her courage and returned, "You don't recognize me, do you?"

Ruby did seem to stall for a moment. "...Should I?"

"From the beach in Vale?" Blake continued, "When you fell out of the sky…?"

Ruby went quiet. Eventually she cleared her throat, "No, no, are you sure it was me?"

Blake had to admit she was surprised. She wouldn't have guessed Ruby would go straight down the impossible denial route. "You kind of stand out in a crowd, if you didn't notice."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Ruby shrugged with a nervous smile.

Blake blinked. _Well, at least that's not a lie…_ "Okay, what about that comment about princesses?" Blake asked next, knowing Ruby _couldn't_ deny that one was her.

Unfortunately for Blake, Ruby had time to prepare a response to this, given she actually remembered that event. "I don't know, Blake. I guess I was just trying to sound impressive? I could of sworn there was a princess _somewhere_ in Atlas, it's that kind of place."

"You've been to Atlas?" Blake didn't buy it for a second.

"I didn't say that," Ruby disputed, "I just thought there _was_ a princess somewhere for me to pretend meeting."

Blake frowned. Making up meeting a princess to sound impressive didn't sound like the Ruby she got to know, but she didn't have any solid theory to argue. "Fine. Where did you train?"

"Why does this feel like an interrogation?" Ruby crossed her arms.

"It's an innocent question. Like I said, I just want to get to know you," Blake defended, "and you haven't told _anyone_ where you trained."

"I trained very far away," Ruby threw out her usual response.

"Where?" Blake pressed, "Does your school have a name?"

Ruby sighed, realizing she was going to have to come up with something. She needed more time, without looking like she was thinking up an answer. "Where did you grow up?"

Blake blinked. "Excuse me?"

"If we're getting to know each other better, I wanna know where you grew up," Ruby pushed on, internally relieved her bid for time worked. "I told you I grew up on Patch, so?"

Blake clammed up. She didn't want to talk too much about her own past, lest her own secrets come out. Whether Ruby was aware of it or not, she had stumbled over the perfect strategy to end Blake's curiosity. "I-I grew up outside the kingdoms. I didn't really stay in one place long enough to call anywhere a 'home'..." she (in her own opinion, pathetically) excused.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, confused by the change in the bow-headed girl's demeanor.

Luckily for both of them, Weiss entered the dorm at that moment, giving them both a good excuse to end the cross examination. "Where's Yang?" Weiss asked, completely missing, or perhaps ignoring, the tension in the room.

"I dunno," Ruby shrugged.

Weiss looked like she was about to scold Ruby for not knowing, but managed to stop herself before beginning to regress. "I suppose it is the weekend. But I was hoping to go into Vale as a team this afternoon."

"What for?" Blake asked.

"They're setting up the Vytal Festival!" Weiss smiled. "I even heard the first groups of exchange students are supposed to arrive! I figured it might be the perfect excuse to… bond? As a team?"

"That's not a bad idea," Ruby nodded. "I'll shoot Yang a text."

"They're setting up the Vytal Festival already?" Blake asked while Ruby fiddled with her scroll.

"It's true that the week-long fair and tournament the schools host are the big event, but technically the festival itself goes on for _weeks_." Weiss answered.

"Yang's already in Vale," Ruby announced, "She says she'll meet us when we land."

"Off to the air docks!" Weiss happily announced.

* * *

Yang was at Vale's airdock when the Beacon transport carrying her team landed. She waved with a large smile. Soon enough, the team was wandering the streets of Vale, with Weiss wearing a large smile. "A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, _a tournament_! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" she nearly sang.

"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," Yang smirked.

"Quiet, you!" Weiss crossed her arms.

"If we're here for the festival, why are we walking toward the docks?" Ruby asked, scrunching her nose at the smell of fish.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today," Weiss's smile returned. "And, as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament," Blake deduced quickly.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss failed to plead innocence.

Ruby turned to face her sister. "What's all this about a tourrrnnn- whaa?" The young leader was quickly distracted. As she turned her head, a peculiar scene entered her periphery. She recognized the store 'From Dust 'Til Dawn', and it was destroyed. Broken windows, tossed shelves and police tape surrounding the outside. Ruby wandered to the edge of the police tape, and her team followed. She looked to one of the two detectives looking over the scene. "Was this place robbed?"

The detective nodded, "Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This town is goin' insane..."

"Isn't this the same place you saved?" Yang asked her sister.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "That's the scene that got me invited to Beacon."

"This must suck to see..." Yang noted.

"They left all the money again," the other detective called out.

This caught Ruby's attention. She recalled the night of the robbery she stopped. _Calm down, we're not here for your money…_ "I wonder… _someone_ was flying that airship..."

"Rubes?" Yang overheard.

"Who even needs that much Dust?" The first detective wondered aloud.

"I don't know, an army?" the second responded.

"You thinking the White Fang?"

"Yeah, I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

Weiss crossed her arms and _hmphed._ "The White Fang? What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"What's _your_ problem?" Blake sounded offended.

"I simply don't care for the criminally insane," Weiss explained flippantly.

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths," Blake crossed her own arms and narrowed her eyes. "They're a collection of misguided faunus."

Ruby's eyebrow began to raise. She knew what faunus were. A subset of Remnant's population that were mostly human, save for various animal attributes that differed from individual to individual. They were an oppressed people for centuries, only gaining equal rights in a few of the kingdoms in the past few generations. They were perfectly equal in Vale, though in Atlas they were still fighting a bitter fight. And racism is a lot harder to stamp out than bad regulations. The source of Ruby's confusion was that she wasn't sure what the 'White Fang' was...

"Misguided?" Weiss nearly laughed. "They want to wipe Humanity off the face of the planet!"

"Then they're _very_ misguided!" Blake defended, "either way, it doesn't explain why faunus would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale..."

"Blake has a point. That guy I helped arrest, what was his name again…?" Ruby cut in, "Torchwick? He was robbing Dust and leaving behind the lien, and _he_ was human. At least, I'm pretty sure he was. _And_ he had a partner that got away. _"_

Weiss frowned, but didn't relent. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"That's not necessarily true," Yang defended.

Team RWBY was interrupted about that moment by a commotion from the docks. Apparently, a faunus stowaway had taken his moment to escape the boat, and subsequently the police. The faunus, a lightly dressed boy with blond hair and a blond monkey tail, ran right past them, winking as he did so. Ruby noticed a glint of weaponry under his loose shirt. "I think he might be a student."

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes," Yang smirked.

"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss announced.

The team gave chase, but quickly lost him. Weiss's ensuing search for the 'rapscallion' and 'the filthy faunus from the boat' sparked yet another argument between her and Blake. _This_ argument heated quickly and showed no signed of slowing down, even as the sun set and the team made their way back to Beacon.

"You ignorant little brat!"

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

" _You_ are a judgmental little girl!"

"What in the world makes you say that!?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

Ruby took the opportunity to pull Yang away and have a private word. "So… remind me what the 'White Fang' is?"

"Right," Yang remembered her sister had a three-year gap in her knowledge of Remnant's recent history. "So, the White Fang started as a faunus peace organization. Protests, stand ins, marches, all for faunus rights. Though the last few years, their methods have become… morally questionable. Less boycotts of anti-faunus businesses and more fire-bombings."

"Okay, I get it," Ruby nodded. "What I still don't understand why Weiss and Blake are so angry over it."

"Well, Weiss _is_ a Schnee straight outta Atlas. The SDC is a _major_ White Fang target, and Weiss's dad isn't doing much to mend bridges if you get what I'm sayin'," Yang explained. "As for Blake… I'm not entirely sure, honestly."

* * *

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That _is_ the problem!"

The argument indeed lasted all they way back to the dorm. Heated words were still being slung back and forth between Weiss and Blake even as the moon shone brightly through RWBY dorm's window. Ruby and Yang still didn't know what to do, watching uncomfortably as the scene played itself out.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you?" Weiss pointed out, "The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There's no such thing as pure evil!" Blake countered, "Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like _you_ , that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

"People like _me_?" Weiss reeled.

"You're discriminatory!" Blake shouted.

"I'm a _victim_!" Weiss shouted even louder.

The dorm finally got silent as Weiss took a breath and calmly elaborated. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. _War_ , as in _actual bloodshed_. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed... an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very. Difficult. Childhood."

Blake's eyes nearly became sympathetic, until Weiss's voice turned sharp. The heiress spun on her heel and added, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang!? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

" _Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!_ "

Blake's words caused a heavy silence to blanket the dorm. Everyone's eyes widen in realization, and Weiss backs away slightly.

"Blake…?" Ruby reached out.

"I… I..." Blake became a black blur as she sprinted out of the room.

"Blake!?" Ruby called out after her, dashing to the door.

"I can't believe it," Weiss crossed her arms. "A _terrorist_ , sleeping next to us!"

"We don't know her side of the story," Ruby quickly pointed out.

"Do we need it?" Weiss shook her head, "She'll probably just lie to us, like she apparently has been for _weeks_."

Ruby groaned. "I'm going to go look for her. She can't have gotten far yet."

"We should be calling the police!" Weiss argued.

" _No!_ " Ruby shut the heiress down. "Yang, make sure Weiss doesn't do anything stupid."

"Got it, boss," Yang nodded. Ruby left the two alone in the dorm and ran down the hallway.

* * *

Blake didn't know where she was going. She ran in circles, lost in thought. It wasn't until she found herself at Beacon's fountain that she realized she hadn't even left the school grounds. She slowed to a stop. Her eyes passed over the fountain's centerpiece, a statue depicting a group of huntsmen rising triumphant over a pack of Grimm. She slowly reached up and undid her bow, releasing a pair of cat ears from their fabric prison.

"There you are."

The voice made Blake freeze. _How did they find me so quickly?_ She nervously turned around and was surprised to see Ruby was alone. The redhead nodded to her and quietly stepped up next to her, eyes passing over the statue as well. The silence dragged on, becoming increasingly uncomfortable for the secret faunus. She had almost managed to unfreeze her feet to run once again when Ruby finally broke the silence.

"Is it racist if I call your cat ears cute?" the young leader asked.

Blake was so surprised by the innocent question, she stopped herself from taking off. "I, um… wouldn't mind it from you. I know you're being sincere."

"Well then, your ears are cute," Ruby smiled.

"T-thank you..." Blake stammered.

The silence returned, but not for nearly as long. "Weiss may not be willing to hear your side of the story, at least not yet," Ruby spoke up, "but _I_ am."

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't the words she wanted.

Ruby sighed. "Are you a bad guy?"

"No!" Blake defended quickly. "Or, I don't know, or, I mean…" her face fell, "I don't want to be..."

"Okay," Ruby nodded.

"Okay?" Blake wasn't sure she understood correctly.

"If you need time away from Weiss, to gather your thoughts, I understand," Ruby promised. "I'll tell the team I couldn't find you. We'll probably search Vale for you tomorrow. I'll find a few moments to break away in the afternoon and meet you somewhere, and we can talk. Okay?"

Blake was in quiet thought for nearly a full minute. "There's a cafe… open balcony, not too far from the Dust shop from today..."

"I'll meet you there," Ruby confirmed.

"Just like that?" Blake was in disbelief.

"Interrogating you while you're all emotional like this will do no good," The leader half-joked, "and if you don't show up, I'll just have to hunt ya' down."

"R-right..." Blake nodded.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow," Ruby smiled and walked away.

Blake still wasn't quite sure she didn't just imagine that scenario. She finally unstuck her feet and walked away from Beacon. As she passed the standing pillars of the courtyard, someone familiar was leaning against one seemingly waiting for her. The golden haired monkey faunus from the boat earlier that day. He smirked at her, "I knew you'd look better without the bow."


	13. The Docks

The sun was gently warming an upstairs patio of a cafe in downtown Vale. Blake and the monkey faunus were already there, sipping from teacups. The monkey faunus kept trying to get Blake to speak, but all Blake would say was to save it for when her leader showed up. Finally, Blake spotted black and red walking onto the balcony with a mug of hot cocoa in hand. "Sorry, I'm a little later than I wanted to be. Weiss just wouldn't take her eyes off me… I think she suspected I knew where to find you."

"Why didn't you tell her?" the monkey boy asked.

"I was afraid Weiss would just call the police," Ruby explained bluntly. "Also, who are you?"

"My name is Sun Wukong!" he announced with a huge smile. "I guess you can call me Blake's emotional support monkey."

"I only met you last night," Blake reminded Sun.

Sun didn't allow himself to be fazed by the bow-headed girl. "And already such fast friends!"

"He's been following me around, asking questions, and _won't leave me alone_ ," Blake grumbled.

"Well, sometimes you just need someone there," Sun grinned sincerely, "whether you want them or not."

Ruby could feel the honesty in Sun's smile, and smiled herself. "Well, Blake? Have you had time to think?"

"Yes," Blake nodded, "and, first, I want to thank you for trusting me and giving me the time."

"Of course," Ruby nodded.

"Well?" Sun looked expectantly, "Are you finally gunna 'fess up?"

Blake sighed. She looked to Sun, "Are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course! I don't think there's a faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them," Sun answered, "Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks if you ask me."

Ruby took a calm sip of her cocoa. "And you used to be a member, right?"

Sun did an actual spit-take of his tea, looking to Blake again, " _Y_ _ou_ were a member of the White Fang!?"

"For most of my life," Blake nodded. "I guess you could say I was born into it..."

"The Belladonnas in Menagerie," Ruby nodded. "They _are_ your family, aren't they?"

"Wait, wait, wait..." Sun shook his head again, "You're one of _those_ Belladonnas!? You're dad started the entire movement! Y'know, back when it was still peaceful..."

Blake's head dropped guiltily. "Things were different back then. People were still dealing with the aftermath of the Faunus War. My father's White Fang was meant to be a symbol of unity between the two species." Blake closed her eyes and breathed deeply, willing herself to continue, "I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott. I thought we were making a difference… but no matter what we did, humanity still treated us like second class citizens. _At best_."

"That must have been hard to see..." Sun consoled quietly.

"Not as hard as what came next," Blake drooped again. "Five years ago, my father stepped down. Certain elements in the White Fang were calling for changes, and he wasn't willing to change. And the worst part is that I called my own father a _coward_. I thought he was giving up on us. On our people. I didn't realize _why_ he was distancing himself from the White Fang. I still thought we were the best chance for the faunus."

"But the White Fang was spiraling out of control," Ruby deduced, "right?"

Blake nodded, her face turning dark. "After my father stepped down, the person who stepped up was _more_ than willing to make the changes. Suddenly, instead of peaceful stand-ins, we were assaulting anti-faunus businesses. We were stealing, hurting people. There are rumors that we were even killing people, rumors I willfully ignored. Until I couldn't ignore it anymore."

"What happened then?" Ruby asked.

"I had a partner. A childhood friend who, perhaps, could have been more in a different situation. One day, I finally saw what this new White Fang had done to him. What it was doing to all of us. He became violent and angry. We were robbing a train, and he willing to sacrifice human lives in order to disrupt the delivery of a few crates of Schnee Dust. So I cut ties and ran away. I want to _help_ people, not hurt them. That's what brought me to Beacon, and I've stayed hidden in plain sight ever since. All with the help of a little black bow."

Ruby nodded, and let the silence settle while everyone processed. "So… what now?"

"I still don't think the White Fang are involved in these robberies," Blake explained, "but I have to find out for sure. I can't face Weiss until I know."

"Why not?" Sun cut in.

"Because I defended an organization I _know_ is corrupt to her face!" Blake answered. "What if I defend them again, and it turns out they _are_ involved? And, if they are involved, why do they need so much Dust? They never have before."

"What if they are..." Sun seemed to scratch his chin thoughtfully. "They'll probably want as much as they can get, right?"

"You have an idea?" Ruby asked him.

"Alright, hear me out on this..." Sun leaned in close, "what if we stake out the place the thieves are most likely to go next? Either we run into the _real_ thieves and can clear the White Fang, or we run into the Fang, and then... at least we know?"

"That… may not be as bad of a plan as it sounds," Ruby admitted.

"Thanks!" Sun smiled brightly, either purposefully ignoring or outright missing the back-handed nature of the comment.

"The only problem with that plan is that we have no idea where that is," Blake pointed out.

"I did hear something on the ship," Sun informed them. "Big Schnee freighter unloading here tomorrow night. Apparently, so much Dust has been stolen already, they needed an emergency restock for half the city. Whoever is doing all these robberies _can't_ pass up a target that big."

Ruby nodded and looked to Blake, "What do you think?".

Blake nodded. "It's worth a shot, at least. We'll stake out the docks tomorrow night."

"Alright, it's a plan," Ruby agreed. She downed the last of her cocoa and stood. "I should probably track down Yang and Weiss before they start worrying about me."

"What are you going to tell Weiss?" Blake asked.

Ruby thought for a moment. "What do you want me to say?"

Blake sighed. "Nothing. I'll apologize to her myself afterwards, if she'll accept it."

* * *

Ruby, Weiss and Yang returned to the dorm shortly after they all found each other again. To honor Blake's wishes, Ruby hadn't told Weiss they spoke. Ruby hadn't had a chance to speak with Yang alone, so the blonde didn't know yet either. "Don't worry, girls. I'm sure we'll find her tomorrow," Yang tried to assure.

"I'm still not sure we _want_ to find her," Weiss huffed.

Yang looked hurt, likely for her partner's sake. "You really don't care if we find her, do you?"

"Don't be stupid, of course I care," Weiss argued, "I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we do. The innocent never run, Yang."

"I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions," Yang countered.

"I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right," Weiss stood her ground.

Ruby nearly growled, having reached the end of her patience with Weiss's attitude. After a day and a half of listening to Weiss's crap, Ruby finally broke, "And _I_ think you're not doing enough to meet our teammate halfway!"

Weiss seemed stunned. "What do you mean?"

Ruby didn't hesitate to tear into her partner, "Why do you think she felt a need to hide!? Not as White Fang, she could have done _that_ lie without her bow, but _as a faunus_!? Because she didn't want people to judge her just for having an extra set of ears! Ever since she revealed herself, you've done nothing but _stereotype_ her, just like any other faunus you come across!"

"I have _not_!" Weiss denied.

"Yeah, you have," Yang countered. "Just like that monkey kid yesterday that started this whole argument. You've generalized an entire species based on the actions of a few corrupt extremists. I get it, you had a rough childhood caught in the middle of a war you probably didn't understand. But why do you think they come after your family, after Atlas and the SDC, so hard? Not to defend terrorists, they have done some pretty messed up stuff. But it takes two to go to war, Weiss, and one side is rarely faultless."

"She _said_ she was in the White Fang!" Weiss reminded them.

"But she's clearly not anymore," Ruby pointed out. "Have you given _no_ thought on why that might be?"

"Yeah, Weiss, who's to say she wasn't a part of it when it was peaceful?" Yang picked up. "Maybe she left _because_ they went crazy."

"The innocent. Never. Run," Weiss reiterated.

"The innocent run all the time," Yang refuted. "Especially if they're afraid of being wrongly persecuted."

Weiss opened her mouth to continue arguing, but couldn't find anything to say. She just floundered for a few moments in silence.

Ruby approached her partner, slowly taking the heiress's shoulders in her hands and looking her dead in the eyes. "You left Atlas to study here for a reason. I think you wanted to grow. Not just as a fighter, but as a person. But sometimes growing hurts. Sometimes it means facing a part of yourself you don't want to admit exists. This is one of those times, Weiss."

Weiss's eyes softened. "Ruby… what _is_ the curriculum at that mysterious school of yours?"

Ruby smirked, "the curriculum itself isn't so special. The _real_ advantage was the library. Would you believe me if I told you it's bigger than Beacon's?"

"You'll have to show me," Weiss suggested.

Ruby giggled uneasily and rubbed the back of her head, "I can't promise anything..."

"So," Yang cut in to save her little sister, "what does this mean for Blake?"

Weiss composed herself and answered calmly, "If or when she returns, I will give her the chance to explain herself. Well see where things go from there."

Ruby smiled. "One step at a time."

"Indeed," Weiss nodded. "Thank you, Ruby."

* * *

The sun set over the Vale docks. Blake lay in wait on the rooftop of a nearby warehouse, watching intently as entire shipping containers of Dust were off-loaded.

Sun appeared beside her, "did I miss anything?"

"No," Blake shook her head, "They're still offloading the crates."

Sun watched as well. "It looks like they're done. And now they're leaving." After a few moments of nothing, Sun held an apple out to Blake, "I stole you some food?"

Blake looked at the apple, then narrowed her eyes at the monkey boy. "Do you always break the law without a second thought?"

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun countered.

Blake scowled in turn.

"Too soon?" Sun shrugged.

The sound of metal boots approached the pair, and they turned to see Ruby arrive. "Hey. I miss anything?"

"Nope," Blake repeated, "They've offloaded the containers. Now they're just sitting there."

"Maybe that's good news?" Ruby suggested. A couple of airships appeared suddenly, prompting Ruby to duck down low like Blake and Sun. "And here are the thieves..."

They watched the airships land and several people in white tunics and Grimm masks exited the crafts. "Oh no..." Blake's head dropped.

"Bad news?" Ruby asked.

Blake nodded. It _was_ the White Fang.

"You really didn't think it was them, did you?" Sun deduced.

"No, I think I always knew," Blake refuted, "I just didn't want to believe it."

Just after Blake said this, another person stepped out of one of the airships. Someone who was very much human. A short girl wearing bright white, brown and pink clothing, with hair just as colorful. She was carrying a parasol she was using to gesture and give instructions. She even used the hook to drag around a White Fang underling who apparently wasn't understanding her instructions.

"Something's not right," Blake stood, "The White Fang would _never_ follow a human." The feline faunus leapt off the rooftop. Ruby called out after, too late to stop her. Blake was already on the ground, quietly sprinting toward the small human. Blake quickly grabbed her from behind and put her blade to her throat. The faunus quickly reached up and undid her bow. "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this human!?"

The small girl, known as Neopolitan to her allies, rolled her eyes. She roughly grabbed Blake's feline ears and pulled. She used the leverage to flip herself onto Blake's back. By the time Blake could register the heeled boot standing on her right shoulder, Neo's other boot had struck her in the back of head, _hard_. Neo used the same motion to back-flip off the collapsing Blake.

"Blake!" both Sun and Ruby called out in unison, and jumped off the building together.

Neo noted the oncoming helpers, and made a silent sigh. She pointed at the pair with her parasol and dragged her thumb across her throat. The message was clear to her White Fang underlings. The masked soldiers ran forward, weapons raised. They were no match for either of them. Ruby had three years of intensive Keyblade training and no reason to hold back on her magic with only strangers and criminals to see her. Sun's weapon, a set of four lever action shotguns that could also connect together both as a set of nunchucku and as a bo staff, easily overwhelmed anyone to took a shot at him.

While fighting, Ruby managed to spot Neo walking away. "That girl is going to get away!"

"Go after her! I've got this," Sun assured.

Ruby looked down at Blake. She wasn't unconscious, but she clearly was struggling to stand. "Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"I'm sure," Sun shot her a confident grin, "These guys are nothin'!" Ruby nodded and ran after the multi-colored woman. Neo was strutting toward an airship stuffed into the corner of the yard, intent to step on and leave the scene.

"Blizzara!"

A chunk of ice whizzed passed Neo's ear and struck the airship. The ice froze the airship's door shut just as she was reaching for the handle. Neo was actually surprised, and turned to face her aggressor. Ruby held Crescent Rose at her with one hand. _That weapon, those clothes… she's the one who arrested Roman._ Neo smiled and tapped the airship with her parasol, signaling it to take off without her. She stepped up to little red, parasol over her shoulder, smirk on her face. _I'm going to enjoy this._ Ruby's other hand gripped her Keyblade's handle as she settled into her combat stance.

Ruby took the initiative, opening with her usual combo. Neo gracefully dodged every attack, biding her time. When Ruby attempted a thrust, Neo made her move. Suddenly, the crook of the parasol's handle was inside Crescent Rose's handguard. It hooked onto the Keyblade's handle and one of Ruby's wrist and sweeped downward, flipping Ruby right onto her back while Crescent Rose spun into the air, stabbing into the ground several feet away.

Neo sauntered into a position blacking Ruby from running to her weapon. Ruby couldn't help but smile. Keyblade wielders were _never_ truly disarmed. Still, having Crescent Rose thrown from her wasn't an easy feat. They were taught not to be complacent about their weapon grip, as even a second of vulnerability was still a vulnerability. "You're a lot better than your partner, what was his name? Torchwick?"

Neo's smug grin turned into a scowl.

"So it was you on that airship, huh?" Ruby deduced.

Neo's smile returned. _This girl has no idea who she is dealing with._

Ruby noted the small girl's confidence. "I guess we'll know, if the robberies continue after I take you in!" Ruby punctuated her declaration by summoning Crescent Rose back to her hand.

Neo's eyes widened in shock. Her head whipped around, seeing indeed the weapon had vanished from behind her. She faced Ruby again.

Her face was now serious determination. Her grip on her parasol tightened and a thin blade extended out of the tip. She waited for Ruby's move, but Ruby wasn't giving Neo another chance to counter. "Magnera!" The second-tier 'magnet' spell lifted Neo off the ground and trapped in the spiraling orb of energy Ruby summoned. The young wielder jumped up and assaulted the defenseless criminal with a seven-hit combo.

The spell wore out, and Neo was freed from the magic trap. She barely managed to twist round and land on her feet, still trying to figure out _exactly_ what just happened. _Must be her semblance_. Neo looked up at her quarry with a teasing smile. Ruby brought her Keylade down and the colorful girl… _Shattered?_ The enemy faded into existence behind Ruby and struck. Neo looked one part ballerina, one part blender as she relentlessly spun, twirled, and flipped, striking Ruby with booth blade and heel.

Ruby got her break when Neo reared for a heavy thrust. She managed to bring Crescent Rose up in time to stop her opponents blade. While standing blade-locked, Ruby spoke up, "Illusionist, huh? That's fun. Never seen that trick before."

Neo rolled her eyes. _Does this girl ever shut up?_

That momentary lapse in attention was all Ruby needed to push Neo off balance once again. One strike, two strikes, a third in rapid succession. "Fire!" kept Neo off balance. "Blizzard!" froze her foot in place. Ruby followed with Zantetsuken.

Neo was laid out, and she realized she _may_ have underestimated this little girl.

Not letting that deter her, Neo was quickly back on her feet and lunged. The fight became even more tense and brutal. Strike for strike, Neo took as many hits as she dished out. Finally, Neo felt she had the upper hand. After a few vicious slashes, she found herself back-to-back with her younger quarry. She whipped her parasol around the front of Ruby's neck, gripping both ends. Neo jumped forward and flipped. Her parasol carryed Ruby with her by the bottom of the redhead's jaw. Neo landed on Ruby's back as Ruby landed face-first on the hard concrete.

Neo rolled onto her feet, quickly turning to prepare for whatever retaliation Ruby had. Ruby found her feet slowly, looking a little worse for wear. Neo smiled. The illusionist wasn't in the best shape, but her young opponent was no better off. The fight had not been kind to either of them.

Then, Ruby once again did something Neo could never have anticipated. The girl raised her weapon into the air, smiling as she did so. "Cure." Flower bells briefly manifested over Ruby, showering her in a green light. Her cuts healed, her bruises vanished, and her exhaustion seemed to fade away. The damage to her clothing repaired as well, the enchantments drawing from the spell to stitch itself back together. Ruby settled into her combat stance, looking no different than she did at the beginning of the fight. "I can do this all night," she goaded.

Neo had no idea how she did this, and she realized she _definitely_ had underestimated this little girl.

Neo turned to run, which Ruby was already prepared for. "Stop!" This was not a verbal command for a fleeing suspect, but yet _another_ spell in the Keyblade wielder's repertoire. One that temporarily freezes a target in time. Ruby calmly walked around the front of Neo, who was unnaturally hanging in the air, 'stopped' mid running stride. She raised her Keyblade again, and counted the seconds until Neo returned to normal time. The moment she did, she was greeted by one last fireball that landed her flat on her back.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Saying she could do it all night was a _slight_ exaggeration. The Cure had given her a second wind, but she used the last of her magic power on those last few spells. While her power would recharge rather quickly, possibly even before the end of the fight if it _had_ dragged on, she didn't like the idea of being handicapped of it during combat.

Still, that didn't matter now. The fight was over, and Neo was breathing softly on the ground, ready to be arrested. What _did_ matter, Ruby reminded herself, was the aftermath of Blake's confession. Now that this event was settled, it was time for Blake to return to the dorm. It was time for the talk they had all spent the weekend avoiding.


	14. Forward Thinking

Yang and Weiss got a call from Ruby to meet her on the rooftop. Yang shrugged and Weiss led her to the place her and Ruby had spent a good hour at the night of that infamous first day. Yang watched her casually stepped through the door, walk to the edge of the building, and sit down with her legs dangling over the side. Yang shrugged again and followed suit. They were sitting in silence for several minutes before they heard the door open behind them. There was Ruby, carrying a shopping bag and being followed by none other than Blake Belladonna.

The pair joined Weiss and Yang at the building's edge. Ruby reached into the shopping bag and pulled out a collection of brown ice cream pops. "They only had fudge left this late, I hope that's fine?"

"Sure, thanks!" Yang took hers, surprised.

"Thank you, Ruby," Weiss politely accepted hers.

Blake quietly took hers with only a nod.

They unwrapped the ice creams and took their first bites. After the silence became heavy, Ruby broke it. "Been a crazy weekend, huh?"

"Indeed," Weiss nodded. "I assume you were with Blake, correct? Where were you two?"

Ruby didn't answer herself, but turned to Blake and nudged her shoulder. Blake lowered her ice cream. "I wanted to prove to you that the White Fang weren't involved in those robberies," she explained to Weiss. "So Ruby and Sun, a friend from Haven, a _faunus_ friend,helped me. We figured out where the thieves next target would be, and staked it out." Her head dropped, "but it turned out to be the Fang after all..."

Weiss was thoughtful. "I'm sorry to hear that, Blake. It must have been difficult to see."

Blake was surprised by Weiss's seeming acceptance. "Weiss, I want you to know I have nothing to do with the White Fang. I _did_ , and it took longer than I want to admit to realize how they were being corrupted. But once I finally saw what I spent so long trying not to see, I left. That was a few weeks before Beacon, and in the time you've known me, I have _never_ been their agent."

Weiss nodded. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn't be who you are around me. Ruby reminded me that I left Atlas for a reason. I don't want to be what _they_ want me to be."

"That's already leagues ahead of your father," Blake smiled.

Weiss returned the smile, "Thank you, Blake."

They took another few bites of their ice cream. Ruby decided it was her turn. "Since we're all sharing, I want to say something." Everyone faced her, waiting for her to continue. "I've told all of you about this, separately. But I want it out in the open."

"Is this about you leaving?" Weiss asked.

"I have no intention of staying at Beacon forever," Ruby confirmed. "My skill level isn't luck or prodigy. I've been in heavy training already, for three years. My teacher, Master Kairi… had to leave for a mission. I don't know how long it will take. I only came to Beacon because the alternative was sitting at home, doing nothing, getting rusty… the moment she comes back for me, I _am_ leaving."

"What will happen to the team once you do?" Blake asked.

"That depends on Weiss," Ruby answered. "If I think she's grown enough to make a good leader, she'll take over team Ruby. If I don't, the job is yours."

"Wait, what about me?" Yang asked.

"I love ya, sis," Ruby eased in, "but can you really see yourself leading a team?"

Yang scrunched her face in thought. "Eh, you have a point," Yang accepted, taking another bite of her ice cream. The rest of the team followed suit, and silence settled over the group once again.

As they neared the end of their frozen treats, another thought plaguing Blake's mind surfaced. "We did a lot of good today. But, there's one thing I still don't understand."

"What's that, partner?" Yang coaxed for more.

"The White Fang we stopped… they were being led by a human," Blake informed Weiss and Yang.

"Seriously?" Yang voiced both their surprise.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded. "I managed to beat her, get her arrested… but she's not exactly the talkative type. I think she may have been Torchwick's partner, she reacted to his name."

Weiss _hmm_ ed. "Well, if we have them both, the robberies should stop, right?"

"What if the robberies continue without them?" Blake suggested. "We don't _know_ it was just the two of them. No one we arrested was willing to confess their goals."

"You know what I think?" Yang stood and stretched, bare popsicle stick in hand. "I think stopping an international terrorist organization is a _bit_ above our pay grade."

"Yang has a point," Weiss agreed. "We're still students. Even Ruby is waiting for her teacher so she can return to her own training."

"You're right..." Blake admitted. "It's just… sometimes it feels like no one else is doing enough."

"I know how you feel," Ruby rested her hand on Blake's shoulder. "But even if we could do anything, we need our rest too. It's time for bed, team."

"I second that," Yang yawned.

The four girls returned to their dorm for some well-deserved sleep.

* * *

When Ruby had let loose at the docks, she did so safe in the knowledge that those who saw either wouldn't know, wouldn't care, or wouldn't be believed. Unfortunately, she _did_ forget one very important thing… security cameras. While her and her team were settling down for the night, Ozpin was carefully watching footage from the docks. He had reached the battle with Neopolitan, and what new information that showed certainly intrigued him.

The elevator opened. Glynda walked into the room, tablet in hand. "Ozpin, I wanted to speak to you about-" she spotted the recording. "What is that?"

"The recordings from the docks tonight," Ozpin told her.

"Ms. Rose again?" Glynda sighed. "Is there at least anything new?"

"There is," Ozpin scanned the timeline to the start of Neo and Ruby's fight. "Starting with this."

Glynda watched Ruby's weapon teleport to her hand from nearly ten feet away. "And that's only the start. She also displays a few new magic abilities," Ozpin forwarded the video to the end of the fight.

Glynda's eyes widened when Ruby healed herself. "My word..."

"Indeed," Ozpin nodded. "If she can heal not only herself, but others as well, that alone would make her the most powerful mage I have ever met. But perhaps even more interesting is _this_." He let the video play through to Neopolitan attempting to flee and how Ruby stopped her.

"'Stop'?," Glynda noticed, "what did Ruby do to her?"

"Ms. Rose appears to cast vocal spells," Ozpin informed her. "So I feel safe assuming, given the invocation, that she momentarily halted time. Localized entirely to Ms. Neopolitan."

Glynda straightened up and looked over the headmaster. He continued to stare intently at the screen, pouring over every piece of new information. Glynda sighed, "Ozpin, Ms. Rose has already been at Beacon for nearly an entire semester."

"And?" Ozpin bade her continue.

"Nothing has happened," Glynda pointed out. "No one has attacked her. Whatever secrets she's keeping haven't reared an ugly head. Watching recordings will only tell you so much. I think you should _talk_ to Ruby."

"We must still be careful," Ozpin reminded her. "Amber is still in critical condition in the vault. Whoever stole her power will most likely come for the other half. What do you think that kind of person will do to get her hands on Ruby's power?"

"Even more reason to bring her in!" Glynda insisted. "And If she is really so powerful, she could help us! If we trust her with our secrets, perhaps she will trust us with hers?"

"It's not so simple, Glynda," Ozpin insisted.

"Yes, Ozpin, it is. The issue here is that _You_ are uncomfortable not having an upper hand," Glynda argued. "Finally, you are confronted with something you do not understand, and you refuse to move forward until you do. But how much do you think you'll learn watching recordings with no audio?"

"And what if Ms. Rose is an enemy?" Ozpin asked.

"You said it yourself," Glynda countered, "she wouldn't be walking Beacon freely if you believed she were."

Ozpin brought his hands together in front of his face, elbows on his desk. "Perhaps you are right. But what if Ms. Rose turns us down? We keep secrets to keep people safe. What if she does as well? Most people are not aware of our little 'brotherhood'. What if we are just as unaware that she is a part of something bigger, something higher?"

"We won't know until we ask," was Glynda's only answer.

"I need more time, Glynda..." Ozpin admitted feebly. "I am sorry. But I _must_ know more."

Glynda's face was hard, but her eyes were sympathetic. "Don't take too long. We don't know when our Maiden thief will next attack. Whether we aim to protect Ruby, or ask for her help, we should do so before the situation becomes dire."

* * *

Mercury and Emerald were in the room when Cinder received the news that Neopolitan had been arrested as well. It very quickly became not a safe place to be. Cinder wasn't used to her carefully laid plans falling apart, and now two of her subordinates were imprisoned. She was slinging furious words and fireballs in equal measure.

"Well, Neo can bust out easily, and from inside she'll probably find Torchwick," Emerald assured.

"If that little creature has any sense, that is _exactly_ what she will do!" Cinder shouted.

Emerald and Mercury were chased out of the room by another fireball. The ringleader was alone in her office, and refocused on the object of her fury. Yes Neopolitan was arrested, but as Emerald pointed out that was nothing, perhaps even beneficial after a time. What really ticked Cinder off was _who_ arrested Neopolitan. She stared at the image on the computer, a still of the dock's security camera feed. Proving the same girl that captured Torchwick had interfered yet again. And her strange magic…

" _Who is she!?_ "

Power pulsed into Cinder's fist as she brought it down onto the table. Her rage was momentarily forgotten as she examined said fist. Instead of flame and embers, a strange black and purple smoke ebbed out from her hand. "What was that? Another Maiden power, one I'm not familiar with?"

A loud noise like rushing wind filled the room. Cinder felt a presence enter her office, and she didn't hesitate to sling fire at the possible threat. The fireball hit the wall next to the intruder, an incredibly thin individual wearing an oversized black coat. The person let out a shrill scream and collapsed, curling up on the ground.

Cinder didn't hesitate step right up to the newcomer with another fireball in hand. "How did you get in here?"

"Stop attacking me! Why are you attacking me!?" the figure cried.

"How did you get in here!?" Cinder asked again.

"You called me here!" the figure claimed. "You called me here and then you attacked me and I don't know how to deal with that!"

"I called you here?" Cinder raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"Your darkness," the figure answered as though it was obvious. They finally stood, their arms crossing across their stomach."I was trying to follow my darkness, and then I felt yours. So here I am."

"My darkness?" Cinder scoffed. "What does that even mean?"

"You don't know?" Cinder couldn't tell if the figure was curious or confused, not while their face was still shrouded by that hood. "But you have so much of it…"

"So much darkness?" Cinder shook her head, still in disbelief. "Start making sense!"

The cloaked figure reeled again. "Why are you still threatening me!? I told you I don't know how to deal with that!"

Cinder rolled her eyes and turned away. "You're just insane, aren't you..."

"The Key Bearer..."

Cinder turned back around. Even with that hood, she could tell her uninvited guest was facing her computer. The screen displaying an image of the strange and frustrating young girl. "Wait… do you know something about that annoyance?"

"I know that if you fight her, you won't win," the figure stated. All of a sudden, their voice carried far more confidence than it had at any point in the previous conversation.

That didn't deter Cinder, who summoned her fireball back and aimed her hand right at them. "The power I wield is one of the strongest in all of Remnant."

The same black and purple smoke Cinder had earlier began rising out of her unwanted companion's back, shoulders and arms. They casually reached out and closed their fist around Cinder's fireball, extinguishing it with no damage to themselves. Cinder's eyes shot wide and she took an unconscious step back. "How…"

The dark figure brought their left hand around their front to grip their right bicep. "Believe me or not, you will not win. Not unless you nurture your darkness..." They left with that last remark, seemingly swallowed by a black and purple portal that produced that same brief, high-wind noise from before.

Cinder stared at the spot they vanished from. Skepticism tempted her, but wasn't an open mind what brought her this far? The drive to investigate those old stories that led her to discovering the Maidens were real? The willingness to believe Atlas was building soul-transfer technology that lead her to stealing that gloved-device she used to steal half of the Fall Maiden's soul? Perhaps, then, allowing herself to believe her guest wasn't _entirely_ crazy could lead to a power even greater…

"Darkness, you say..."


	15. The Masters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, all. You can blame Persona 5 Royal for the delay. Yeah... Definitely blame the video game and not the asshole who racked up a 160 hour save file without writing a single word... Totally.
> 
> I also apologize for this being a little shorter than usual, but for one, I didn't originally plan to do this chapter. I then realized it might be cruel to carry on the volume 2 events without any reassurance of what really happened to the KH characters. Secondly, I couldn't make the chapter longer without artificially padding it, so I decided on a shorter, quality chapter over a longer, drawn out chapter.
> 
> All that being said, I do hope you all enjoy!

The Land of Departure had been overrun. Kairi dashed out of the castle in search of the students, destroying Shadows along the way. As she searched the shrouded world, she came across one of her fellow masters. "Riku!" she shouted, destroying a heartless and falling in back-to-back.

"Kairi!" Riku acknowledged her arrival.

"What happened!?" Kairi cried, "I thought we were protected?"

"We are," Riku agreed. "I have no idea how they've gotten through!"

"What do we do?" Kairi asked

"Ventus tried to use his armor and glide off-world, but he was sent back down by Air Soldiers," Riku explained.

They got a break from the heartless, and Kairi looked over the area. "Have you seen any of the students?"

"I haven't..." Riku shook his head.

"I need to find Ruby," Kairi announced. She began to dash away.

Riku took her shoulder, stopping her short. He knew he couldn't convince his friend otherwise, so he offered a, "Be careful," before letting her go.

Kairi nodded. "You as well." She ran, hoping instinct would lead her to her charge.

The Shadows were everywhere. The Air Soldiers stayed in the sky as if standing guard. "It almost looks like someone is controlling them..."

No sooner than Kairi had had this thought, she spotted someone new. Someone incredibly thin with an unconfident posture, their face shrouded by the hood of an all too familiar black coat. _And Darkness… so much Darkness… like I haven't felt since…_ She raised Destiny's Embrace.

The figure spotted her, turning slowly. Darkness flowed off their back and shoulders and the shadows at their feet grew with each step they took.

"Who are you?" Kairi called out.

It responded in an androgynous voice, "Darkness."

"You _are_ Darkness?" Kairi tilted her head. "What does that even mean?"

"Darkness," The figure continued as though they didn't hear her. Their hands slowly raised to grip their head. "And I have to follow my Darkness. There's too much light here, it burns and I don't know how to deal with that… But if the light goes away, it won't burn anymore..."

Kairi's grip on her Keyblade tightened.

"If the light goes away… I won't have to deal with it anymore!" Darkness seeped from the figure's feet, growing behind them as their posture lowered further. Kairi began to doubt they were in control.

A large black arm erupted from the pool behind the cloaked figure. The figure retreated, unhinged laughter following them, leaving Kairi to face the emerging Darkside. The Keyblade Master stood her ground and stared down the giant heartless.

The Darkside's fist slowly raised and came down onto Kairi's positon. The Keyblade master leapt over the attack, landing of the Darkside's arm as it's fist slammed the ground. She ran up the limb toward the Darkside's head, taking a massive swing with Destiny's Embrace as she reached it. The giant heartless staggered, falling to its knees.

After landing on the ground behind the Darkside, Kairi promptly ignored it. One heartless was irrelevant compared to the sea of heartless flooding the Land of Departure, no matter how large. Finding her student was far more important. _But where is she? I swear I've been over the entire mountain by now…_

Kairi was running back up toward the castle when Ruby spotted her first. "Master Kairi!"

"Ruby!" Kairi dashed to meet her student, but was cut off when the ground between them fissured, with darkness pouring out of the crack. _The world is falling apart. It's too late to stop it._

"Master Kairi!" Ruby shouted, grabbing her attention again. "Master, what do we do? What do _I_ do?"

Kairi knew it was too late for the Land of Departure. There was only one thing she could do for Ruby. She looked her student in the eye and spoke as calmly as she could manage, "Ruby. Follow your heart and stay safe."

"KAIRI!"

A wave of darkness erupted from the fissure between them, and Kairi lost sight of Ruby. The master could also feel the ground beneath her shift. The Land of Departure didn't have much time left. Kairi's hand came up to her chest, feeling out her connections. She soon latched on the one she was looking for, and felt the pulse of Ruby's light. _I can give Ruby some of my own light. Shroud her heart to protect her, even if it means damning myself…_

Kairi forced as much of her light as she could spare Ruby's way, praying it would be enough. As the ground beneath her crumbled further, Kairi looked up at what little of the starry sky she could glimpse through black and purple clouds. She saw a bright orb of light rocket toward the Ocean Between. "Be safe, Ruby… May your heart be your guiding key."

The darkness blinded Kairi as it finally swallowed the Land of Departure.

* * *

The first thing Kairi noticed when she woke up was a starless sky. She shook the fog from her head and tried to push herself off the cold ground. A hand on her shoulder startled her, and she spun her head to see the face of one of her oldest friends. "Riku?"

"You're finally awake," Riku helped her to her feet.

"Where are we?" Kairi asked, even as she feared she already knew.

"The Land of Departure has fallen, and we followed it into the Realm of Darkness," Riku confirmed.

"Is it just the two of us?" Kairi asked.

"Not quite," Aqua's voice to Kairi's other side brought her attention to where others were resting. Behind Aqua sat Terra, Ventus, Roxas, Lea and Xion on various outcropping of rock.

"Well, at least we're all together," Kairi joked.

"Are we?" Lea spoke up, "I don't see the students. Where's Chloe?"

Xion spoke up, "I actually ran into her before the world fell. I gave her some of my light to keep her safe."

"I did the same with Ruby," Kairi told her. "I even saw her get displaced."

Riku and Aqua shared a look and nodded at each other. "Looks like we all had the same idea," Aqua announced. "So our students should all be safe in the Realm of Light."

"Are they, though…?" Kairi wondered idly.

Concerned faces turned her way. Lea was the one to ask, "Whaddya mean?"

"I saw someone… They reminded me of the Organization," Kairi explained. "Black cloak, leading the heartless. And so much darkness… almost too much for a person."

"So we _were_ attacked," Riku deduced thoughtfully. "It does explain how the heartless broke through our barriers."

"Well then we gotta get back quick-like!" Lea shot to his feet.

"We have to figure out _how_ first," Ventus pointed out.

"What?" Lea scratched the back of his head. "I thought the three of you could just open up a portal. Like the old Corridors?"

"We can only open portals through the Realm of Light," Aqua shook her head.

"How were you guys jumping back and forth before?" Lea asked.

"Mickey was able to open a doorway to the Dark Realm," Riku explained. "The Keyblade he uses to do it was one he found here."

"And Mickey was one of the few who couldn't come for Makoto's Mark of Mastery," Aqua picked up.

Roxas, Xion and Lea shared an expression of lament. "So we really are stuck here?" Roxas voiced.

"How did the place fall anyway?" Lea questioned. "Heartless invadin' aside, don't they need a world's keyhole to bring it down like this? How was the Land of Departure's never sealed?"

"The Land of Departure doesn't have a traditional keyhole," Aqua explained. "In fact, what makes the world so special is what made it so vulnerable after the heartless did break through our barriers. It's capable of traveling between the two realms. In fact, it's made the round trip before, when I turned it into Castle Oblivion to hide Ven."

"You did what?" Lea shook his head. "Never mind. If you start explainin' we'll probably be here all day. So what's next?"

"When I was trapped here before, I walked through the ruins of fallen worlds," Aqua told them. "If we can find what's left of the Land of Departure, I can restore it."

"And we can ride it back to the Realm of Light," Ventus finished.

"Any tips for surviving the Dark Realm?" Xion asked.

Aqua nodded. "First of all, we should stick together. Time and space is a little more fluid in the Realm of Darkness. We lose sight of each other for a second, and we might not find one another again for weeks."

"Other than that, the heartless here are especially powerful," Riku added, "but as long as we're together, they shouldn't overwhelm us."

Kairi finally found her feet, a look of determination on her face. "All right, there's no time to waste."


	16. Atlas Arrives

The sunrise was still painting the sky a brilliant orange as the sun itself barely crested the far mountains. In a small courtyard in a far corner of Beacon campus, Ruby and Weiss were well into their morning drills. Weiss had never been one for physical activity first thing in the morning, but she was starting to see its appeal. It was very basic, more for the exercise rather than actual training, but it was always good to reinforce the basics.

Weiss noticed that there was something off that morning. Her combat style required a slower pace and more careful strikes compared to Ruby, and as a result Ruby was usually more active than her in the mornings. This morning, however, whenever Weiss looked Ruby's way the redhead was completely still. By the third or forth time Weiss could clearly see Ruby was lost in her own head somewhere. Silver eyes stared, unfocused, past her weapon and into the distance.

Weiss lowered her weapon and stepped to her partner's side. "Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes snapped back into focus. She shook her head and dispelled her Keyblade. "Sorry. I think I'm going to skip today. Feel free to keep going without me."

Weiss frowned after her partner. Deciding there was little point in her training alone, she sheathed her blade and followed Ruby. The young leader's bad mood persisted throughout the morning. Her head dropped onto the cafeteria tables at breakfast, where Yang finally saw her for the first time that morning. "You alright, sis?" Yang asked as she sat next to her sister.

"Not really," Ruby admitted.

"Why not? The second semester of Beacon starts tomorrow!" Yang announced excitedly, "we survived the first half of our first year!"

"That's just it," Ruby pointed out. "It's almost the second semester already. I've been here for months now, and nothing..."

Weiss caught on before Yang. "You didn't think you would be here this long, did you?"

"It shouldn't have taken her this long to get back to me..." Ruby confirmed.

"How dangerous was Kairi's mission?" Blake asked, inching toward a certain conclusion.

"She's still alive," Ruby shut that train of thought down. "I can feel it. But the connection does seem weaker..."

Blake and Weiss exchanged a glance. "Connection?" Blake voiced.

Ruby did not have to come up with an answer for that. As she looked up, she noticed someone approaching them. "Sun!" Ruby was thankful for the easy distraction.

"Hey all," Sun nodded, taking a seat next to Blake. He noticed Ruby's mood. "I guess you've already heard?"

The four girls looked to each other. None of them knew what he was talking about. "Heard what?" Ruby asked.

"So that's _not_ the reason you're depressed?" Sun seemed surprised. "Than what _does_ got you down?"

"Nothing important," Ruby deflected, "what have we not heard?"

"That girl you arrested at the docks a few weeks ago? Apparently, she's _escaped_. No one knows how she managed it either," Sun explained. "Not just that, the cops think she took that Torchwick guy with her!"

"So _both_ of the people I helped arrest are wandering free now?" Ruby sighed. "That's great..."

"It's not like the Dust robberies stopped even when they _were_ behind bars," Blake lamented. "Did any of it mean anything…?"

The group fell silent. No one knew how to pick the conversation back up, though it turned out they didn't have to. A commotion began to rise through the rest of the student body in the dining hall. "What's going on?" Yang wondered aloud, watching the other students gather at the windows. Team RWBY, with Sun in tow, joined and watched through the glass as a veritable fleet inched into Beacon's airspace.

"That's a whole lot of airships..." Sun voiced.

"The Atlas kids _are_ scheduled to show up today," Yang reminded them.

"That's still more than they need for visiting students," Blake pointed out, a hint of venom in her voice.

"Those aren't _just_ airships," Weiss elaborated Blake's point for the rest of them. "Those are Atlesian Warships. Joined by General James Ironwood's flagship, no less."

"Doesn't he run Atlas's school _and_ military?" Yang recalled.

"That still doesn't justify him bringing his military to a _peace festival_ ," Blake countered, the venom in her voice more pronounced. "Doesn't he see this is _exactly_ the kind of thing aggravating the faunus!?"

"Blake..." Weiss warned softly, placing a friendly hand on the hidden faunus's shoulder.

Blake's eyes softened as she remembered where she was. "Right. Thanks, Weiss..."

Throughout the exchange, Ruby kept an eye on the airships and an ear on the crowd around her. Many of them shared the same thoughts. _Why bring an army?_

* * *

Ozpin held similar concerns as he viewed the warships from his office atop Beacon's tallest tower. He spun his chair back around to his desk and reached out for a kettle. He poured two cups, one for himself, and one for his visitor. A large and burly gentleman with grayed temples, a square jaw, and spotless white military dress. General Ironwood himself.

"So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas?" Ozpin asked as he pushed the General his cup. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

"Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year. Besides, with _you_ hosting?" Ironwood spoke lightly. The general produced a flask from his coat and added an amber liquid to the offered coffee. "I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up," he continued more seriously.

Ozpin sipped from his own, untainted coffee. "I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends. However, the small fleet outside my window has me concerned."

"Well, concern iswhat brought them here," Ironwood deadpanned.

Ozpin attempted to deflect. "I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult-"

Ironwood cut him off. "Oz, you and I both know _why_ I brought those men."

Ozpin took a deeper sup of his mug and set his coffee down before addressing the general again. "We are in a time of peace," Ozpin finally implored. "Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"Whoever tried to take Amber's power _will_ return for the other half," Ironwood insisted. "It doesn't take a military analyst to realize the distractions of running the festival will the perfect time for them to strike."

"A festival celebrating unity and peace," Ozpin argued. "And here you come, scaring people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"I'm just being cautious," Ironwood held his line. "Besides, they're already here, whether we like it or not. And I did not come to discuss my fleet."

Ozpin did not miss the implication. "Then what _did_ you come to discuss?"

It was Ironwood's turn to take a moment collecting his thoughts. "Some weeks ago, I lent automated units to guard a high priority shipment of emergency goods to Vale. I'm sure you're aware of just what I am talking about."

"Dust, to replace that lost in the recent string of robberies," Ozpin nodded.

"A group of your students happened to be in the right place at the right time, and stopped that particular heist," Ironwood continued. "But that didn't mean I got to rest. I still had blanks to fill in. Nothing major, just crossing 't's, dotting 'i's, that kind of thing. Paperwork."

"Naturally," Ozpin was starting to guess what the general was getting at.

Ironwood took a deep breath to collect himself. "I came across a security feed showing the fight between one of your students and the robber's ringleader, a Ms. Neopolitan if the police report serves. And it was certainly a very _interesting_ fight to watch."

"Whatever your assumptions, I promise you the truth is far more complicated," Ozpin explained.

"More complicated than a _second_ rouge maiden?" Ironwood scowled.

"If you truly watched the same video I did, you saw that Ms. Rose is capable of things beyond what any maiden has ever achieved," Ozpin pointed out.

Ironwood narrowed his eyes. "What else could she possibly be if not a maiden?"

"I don't know," Ozpin answered honestly.

Ironwood didn't believe him. "When you invited me into this brotherhood, we agreed there would be no secrets between us secret-keepers. If I find out you're playing games with me _now_ , of all times-!"

"I am not!" Ozpin shouted. The normally reserved headmaster managed to regain control of the conversation. "I told you the reality would be complicated, and that remains the truth. I haven't the faintest idea where Ruby's power comes from, nor it's true breadth. I have spent the better part of the school year attempting to foster a trust and divine what I can through subtle observation alone. However, as Professor Goodwitch is keen to point out time and again, such methods can only carry me so far..."

Ironwood took this new information in slowly. "So what you're saying, is that not only is Ms. Rose indeed magical, her magics may be even _stronger_ than a maidens? And you allow her to walk your school freely?"

"Ms. Rose is no threat to us!" Ozpin quickly countered.

"You just admitted you don't know anything about her," Ironwood argued. "That makes her an unknown variable, Ozpin! Which can be even more dangerous than a known threat! If this were Atlas, she would be in a cell until she gave us answers!"

"I imagine she would be," Ozpin's voice was quiet and dark. "But I'm sure I don't have to remind you this _isn't_ Atlas. You are now in a foreign kingdom, at _my_ school, as _my_ personal guest. So I expect you to follow _my_ rules. If _any_ of my students are inexplicably and unlawfully detained, I will not protect you."

Ironwood, for once, could see that he had crossed a line. He stood and straightened his coat. "Of course. Whatever you think is best, Oz. Though I would still advise preemptive measures of _some_ kind. If Ms. Rose is an enemy, we don't want to be caught unprepared."

"And if she isn't an enemy, the last thing we want to do is make one of her." Ozpin stood and shook Ironwood's hand. "Despite the direction of our dialogue, it was nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Ironwood smiled and walked back to the elevator leaving the office. As he stepped inside, he pulled out his scroll to make some preparations. "I can be subtle, too, Oz."

* * *

Ruby wasn't the only one in a bad mood that day. Blake was also notably moody, something Weiss finally noticed when the team returned to the dorm and Blake immediately moved to leave.

"Stop," Weiss ordered, pointing at the faunus by the door. "Lately, you have been quiet, antisocial and moody."

"Have you met Blake?" Yang pointed out with a chuckle.

"Which I get is kind of your 'thing'," Weiss admitted, "but you've been doing it more than usual. Which quite frankly, is unacceptable."

Blake sighed. "I just don't understand how everyone can be so calm."

"You're still thinking about the robberies, aren't you?" Ruby deduced. "About the White Fang."

"The White Fang, Torchwick and his partner, all of it!" Blake nodded. "Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Ozpin told us not to worry," Yang reminded her. "Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it."

"Well, I'm not!" Blake confessed. "They don't know the White Fang like I do!"

"And let me guess, you're the _only one_ who can stop them?" Weiss shook her head. "That is a very dangerous line of thinking. Need I remind you all we are still students? We're not ready to handle this kind of situation."

"Ruby is!" Blake gestured to their leader. "She has almost three years of proper training over the rest of us!"

"Even if she is, and it _is_ an 'if',the rest of us aren't!" Weiss pointed out.

Ruby decided it was time for her to step forward. "Blake, I understand what you're feeling. But there's only so much we can do. And Weiss has a point, I'm not exactly ready for this kind of thing either."

Blake's hands curled into fists. "We know _something_ is going on. And I _refuse_ to sit back and forget about it if there's anything at all I can do to help."

Blake's words struck a chord with Ruby. Her mind wandered back to the Gummiphone. She saw the determination in Blake's eyes. The only difference between their two situations was that Blake _could_ try and do something. "Alright."

Blake's fists relaxed. "Alright?"

"I told you I understand what you're feeling. So if you're dead set on doing this, you aren't doing it alone." Ruby turned to the others, "what do you say, team?"

Yang smiled, "Sounds like fun!"

"Certainly better than going it alone," Weiss agreed.

"Alright," Blake found herself smiling, "We're in this together."

* * *

A girl in a Haven uniform made her way to the guest dorms for the visiting students. Black pigtails bounced with each step, and her bright green eyes scanned every student she passed. Soon, she managed to find the door she was looking for and stepped inside to see three others in Haven dress, though they were far from students. Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, and Cinder Fall herself. Once the door was closed the four were alone, the sound of cracking glass accompanied a dispelling illusion over the ravenette, revealing a far more familiar quiet and multi-colored villain.

Emerald looked to Neopolitan with a frown. "Are you sure she should be here? She was in jail two weeks ago. The authorities know her."

"Academy teams require four students," Cinder reminded her follower. "And no one else can hide in plain sight as well as our fair Neo."

Emerald shot Neopolitan another glare, to which the petite criminal only winked in return.

"That being said," Cinder continued, "it likely _would_ be prudent to be seen as little as possible."

It was Neopolitan's turn to scowl as Emerald stuck her tongue out at her.

"Don't worry, little one. You'll have your fun when the time is right," Cinder assured.

A dark smile stretched across Neopolitan's face.

"Unless, of course, it involves little red," Cinder clarified.

Neopolitan's eyes narrowed at her boss.

"I understand your desire to get back at her, but Ruby Rose is _mine_ ," Cinder laid down the law in no uncertain terms.

"Are you sure she's even here?" Mercury asked apathetically.

"Ruby Rose is the leader of first-year team RWBY alongside Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long," Emerald recounted as if she were reading lines off a paper. She shot a grin at her silver-haired partner, "since we _are_ at a school, you could at least _pretend_ to do your homework."

"I'd rather pretend you did mine for me," Mercury smirked.

"And what exactly would I pretend to get out of _that_ deal?" Emerald asked.

"The piece of me you _know_ you always wanted," Mercury gestured to his pants.

"Well, at least we all know _that's_ pretend," Emerald scowled.

"That!" Cinder shouted, "is enough vulgarity for one day. Please proceed to be _quiet_. I have a plan to refine."

"And what exactly _is_ the next step of our plan?" Emerald asked cautiously.

"Roman is coordinating the White Fang, along with our collected Dust reserves, to 'Site B'," Cinder explained. "As for us, it was important for our infiltration we arrive with the other students. Which, unfortunately, leaves us with a lot of 'downtime'. So keep your heads down, don't blow our covers, and be observant. You never know what you might overhear while sneaking about the enemy's headquarters."

"So, do nothing?" Mercury shrugged, "that is a job I can handle."

"As you say, Cinder," Emerald accepted dutifully.

Neopolitan sighed and frowned, but nodded her head.

Cinder smiled. She had already waited so long for this. She could wait a few more weeks. _Soon, all the power Remnant has to offer will be mine_.


	17. Escalation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... A few chapters back, when I was showing the Masters in the Realm of Darkness, something felt off. All the way to upload I never figured out what. Well, the other day, I finally realized I completely forgot Terra existed. I didn't mention him at all in the chapter because I literally forgot he was even a character. I'm probably going to go back and add his name somewhere, until then you can just assume he was there. Sorry to all the Terra fans out there.

Team RWBY hatched a plan to investigate the first Friday of the new semester. The classes seemed to drag on, and when they finally ended, the girl's couldn't help but be excited to start their search.

"I thought that class was never going to end," Blake commented.

"Today our investigation finally begins," Weiss seemed relieved. "Ready, Ruby? Ruby?"

The team leader stared out the window, absentmindedly fiddling with the clasps on her gauntlet.

"Remnant to Ruby," Yang waved her hand in front of her sister's eyes to bring her attention back to the task at hand. "We doing this thing?"

"Right. Yes." Ruby nodded quickly. She turned to face her team. "All right, let's go over the plan one more time. Weiss?"

"I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss sounded off professionally.

Blake picked up next, "the White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

Yang smiled and took her turn. "I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be _too_ hard."

"Alright," Ruby nodded and turned to Blake. "Your heading into the most danger, but as a human I can't get into the rally. So I'll be nearby, ready to back you up on your call."

"Let's do this!" Yang cheered.

"Yeah!"

The girls froze. That second cheer didn't come from any of them. Their heads turned together to the window, where they saw Sun hanging upside down from outside.

"How did you get up there?" Yang asked him.

"It's easy," Sun shrugged, "I do it all the time."

"You do _what_!?" Weiss scolded.

"I climb trees all the time!" Sun elaborated, unfazed. He managed to swing himself through the window into the dorm. "So, are we finally getting back to looking into the White Fang?"

"We are going to investigate the situation," Blake gestured to the other girls, "as a _team_."

"We appreciate your help before, but we'd rather not get friends involved," Ruby explained.

"Pshh, that's dumb! You should always get friends involved," Sun waved them off.

"You're not going to let up on this, are you, Sun?" Blake deduced, knowing full well how stubborn her fellow faunus could be.

"Nope!" Sun confirmed proudly.

"Okay..." Ruby did some quick thinking. "As a faunus, Sun can accompany Blake. The more backup for her, the better."

"Sounds like a plan!" Sun smiled widely. "So… what is the plan again?"

* * *

Blake led Sun and Ruby to the warehouse district before telling Ruby to break off. The team leader remained nearby, trying her best not to look like she was loitering. She managed to find a coffee shop on a corner. She sat down in the outdoor patio with a mug of cocoa, her gaze cast over the railing and into the distance. As she waited and hoped she wouldn't be needed, someone approached the railing from outside the patio.

Ruby was brought out of her reverie once she realized she was being stared at. She looked over the newcomer, a girl wearing a beige blouse, a black and green skirt coverall, tall black and green boots, and a cute face framed with bright green eyes and bright orange hair. "Um, hello?"

"Hello!" The girl greeted cheerfully.

After another moment of silence, Ruby spoke up again. "Can I help you?"

"I'm all right, thank you!" The strange girl nodded.

Ruby waited for her to leave. She didn't. "Okay…"

The girl looked as though she suddenly remembered something. "I was actually wondering… if I could join you?" she asked, sounding unsure of herself.

Ruby didn't know what to think. "I mean, I guess..."

"Thank you! I'll be right in!" The girl cheered right back up and walked to the main entrance.

Ruby wating with one brow raised. She didn't have to wait long, as her 'guest' sat at her table without ordering anything. "Are you not getting a drink?"

"I'm not thirsty," the girl answered.

"...Okay then..."

Ruby began to study the girl. Something about her seemed off, but also a little familiar. The more the young wielder thought, the sharper a theory began to form in her head.

"It's… a wonderful day we're having!" the girl cut in when the silence dragged too long.

Ruby smiled lightly. Her theory seemed more plausible with every sentence. "You don't know how to make friends, do you?"

The strange girl was stunned by the quick deduction. Everything about her body language screamed 'embarrassment' save for the lack of a blush in her face. "I, um… are we not friends…?" she eventually lamented.

Ruby giggled, "I don't even know your name."

"Oh, right!" the girl nervously fidgeted. "My name is Penny! Penny Polendina!"

"Ruby Rose," Ruby introduced herself.

"I know!" Penny nodded.

"Really?" Ruby's face scrunched for a moment. "How?"

Penny gave a few empty blinks before smiling. "You are kind of famous around Beacon!"

"Am I?" Ruby questioned. "Wait, are you a student?"

"Yes indeed!" Penny nodded. "I'm visiting from Atlas for the Vytal Festival!"

"Huh," Ruby nodded and took a drink of her cocoa. "So, why are you in this part of the city?

"Just exploring," Penny answered. She hiccuped. "Excuse me... What about you?"

"Exploring as well," Ruby lied.

Penny tilted her head. "But you live here?"

"I live at Beacon right now," Ruby corrected.

"But wouldn't you have lived in Vale before that?" Penny asked.

"I've been… out of town for a few years," Ruby answered carefully.

"Where?" Penny pressed.

"Well..." Ruby turned away, just in time to see Blake and Sun running across the rooftops. Her eyes widened, and her scroll sounded off in her pocket. She answered quickly.

Blake's voice came first. "Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-"

" _HEEELLP_!" Sun screamed, cutting her off. "Big robot! And it's big! Really big! That Torchwick guy is in it! But not like, it didn't eat him! He's like, controlling it or something!"

Ruby shoved her scroll back into her pocket, stood, and turned to Penny. "Sorry, but I gotta go."

"Where are we going?" Penny asked innocently.

"No, Penny, _I've_ got to go," Ruby reiterated. "We'll find each other back at Beacon, okay!? See ya!" The young leader vaulted the railing and began running the direction she saw her friends running.

It wasn't hard to follow the path of destruction that Ruby assumed was caused by Torchwick's robot. "I need to catch up!" The young Keyblade wielder used her Flowmotion power and quickly became little more than a red neon streak bouncing from wall to pole to wall again. She managed to catch sight of the mech.

Not a moment after catching that glimpse, a fireball struck her side. She was knocked out of Flowmotion and sent veering into the shadows under the raised freeway. She hit the ground and quickly rolled back onto her feet, summoning Crescent Rose as she stood. "Who's there!?"

A circle of fire erupted around her, trapping her within. A figure, dressed in black, with a hood and mask to boot, stepped _through_ the flames, not taking any damage from them in the process. Her eyes glowed like embers. There was something else, too… something a lot more familiar to the redhead. She settled into her combat stance.

"Ruby Rose," the figure greeted her with a calm voice. "I had a feeling you might show up again, and I can't afford to allow you to interfere again."

"You work with Torchwick and Neopolitan?" Ruby asked.

"'With'?" the woman laughed. "Don't insult me."

"So they work _for_ you," Ruby nodded. "You're in charge, then."

"Don't think it'll be so easy to take me in," the fire caster goaded.

Ruby looked around at the flames surrounding them. _Is Dust capable of this? Or is this her semblance?_ "How are you doing this?"

"Like you don't know." The woman summoned flames around her arm. "Which one are you, anyways? Winter or Summer?"

Ruby tilted her head in clear confusion. "What?"

"I don't have either the time nor the patience for games!" The woman raised her palm to aim her fire at the Keyblade wielder. "I know where Spring is, and we both know what happened to Fall. So are you Winter or Summer?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Ruby told her honestly.

The woman didn't seem fazed. "Then where does your magic come from?"

Ruby's eyes widened in shock. "What did you say…?"

"If you're not a maiden," the woman continued, "then what are you?"

Ruby gave no vocal answer, only tightened her grip on her Keyblade.

"I suppose it won't matter," the woman gathered her fire around herself. "Once I defeat you and take your magic for myself, _you_ won't matter."

A fireball launched from the woman's hand. Ruby was ready, and easily knocked the attack aside. The Keyblade wielder pointed the tip of her weapon at her opponent, "Blizzara!" The blast struck the fiery woman encasing her shoulder. The ice melted away quickly, however, and only served as a minor distraction while Ruby rushed her. The woman's dust-infused clothing lit as she summoned a glass sword. Crescent Rose locked with the glass blade.

"'Blizzara'?" The woman teased. "You really aren't a maiden, are you? What kind of magic _do_ you have?"

"Not the kind you can just _take_ ," Ruby taunted.

"We'll see about that," her opponent spoke smugly from under the mask. The two fighters separated, jumping away from each other. The masked woman formed a second glass sword into her off-hand and charged.

Ruby blocked one blade and dodged the other, managing to step into her enemy's side. She swung at the masked woman's ankle first, and knocked her off balance. Ruby followed with two additional strikes before winding up for a heavy third. The fiery woman crossed her swords in front of her to block the third strike. The force of the blow was still enough to send her sliding back on her heels, with both glass blades noticeably cracked. Ruby raised her Keyblade and called down "Thundara!", aimed at her enemy's weapons and shattering them.

Not one to relent an advantage, Ruby immediately charged. The masked woman threw the now useless hilts of her weapons one after the other, and both were easily knocked aside by Ruby without missing a step. The woman quickly formed a fireball in her hand as the Keyblade wielder closed the distance. Ruby, expecting a throw, kept an eye on it. However, the woman exploded the fireball in her hand, momentarily blinding the young wielder staring at it.

Ruby felt a hand grip her own, the one holding Crescent Rose. She opened her eyes, regaining her vision in time to watch her enemy pull her by her own weapon hand. The masked woman clawed her free hand and dig the fingertips into Ruby's gut. More fire circled the woman's arm, focusing in the space between her palm and Ruby's abdominals. The released blast sent the Keyblade wielder flying through the air. She landed several feet away, prone and weaponless.

The masked woman lifted Crescent Rose in her hand, examining her prize. "Your sword is much lighter than I anticipated. And this feeling… perhaps, this strange weapon is the source of your magic?"

"Close..." Ruby slowly rose to her feet. Once upright, she stretched her hand toward her opponent, and her Keyblade. "But not quite."

In a quick flash of red light, Ruby was holding Crescent Rose once again.

The masked woman stared at her empty hand. "So, you can even reclaim your weapon if someone else is holding it? Powerful indeed." Her eyes refocused on Ruby and fire erupted around her arms, "I can't wait to master such skills when your abilities are mine!"

"Someone like _you_ could never be worthy of this power," Ruby scowled.

"I'll decide what I'm worthy of!"

The masked woman, tired of this entire affair, started indiscriminately slinging fireball after fireball at her foe. Her frustrations only rose and Ruby deftly blocked and dodged every one. Fury bubbled within her, alongside something else. Something that creeped along her arm until suddenly, one of her fireballs was black and purple. This fireball was the one that finally found home, and Ruby gave a short cry as it struck her.

Ruby watched her enemy stare at a black and purple smoke rising from the hand that threw the dark fireball. "Nurture my darkness…"

"Uh oh..." Ruby muttered under her breath.

The darkness spread across the masked woman, the purple aura and black smoke eminated from her upper arms and shoulders. "That freak said this is the power I need to beat you… and I didn't even have to steal it. Hehehe… Hahaha!"

The masked woman raised her arm, and Ruby immediately raised her guard. Her foe slammed her fist into the ground and purple cracks spread toward Ruby. Silver eyes widened, her realization too late to dodge as a pillar of dark fire erupted under her feet and sent her tumbling through the air. The masked woman chased her into the air, reeling a fist coated in dark fire. Ruby was thankful she had Ariel Recovery as she steadied herself in mid-air to block that attack. Even blocked, Ruby could feel the strike in her bones. The attack sent her right to the ground, and she barely managed to stay on her feet.

Her opponent charged another blow as she descended on Ruby. At the last moment, Ruby raised her Keyblade with a desperate "Reflera!" The barrier formed in time to catch the masked woman, and the burst sent her, unbalanced, back into the air. Ruby wasted no time and followed with Ariel Sweep, launching a full four-hit air combo off it. She finished with a heavy overhead that sent her enemy straight to the ground.

Ruby made sure to land facing her foe, who herself recovered quickly. The masked woman charged both of her fists with her dark fire, prompting Ruby to put her guard up once again. Unfortunately, Ruby's defense proved inapt this time. Her opponents first blow broke her guard with ease. A second punch went straight to Ruby's gut, doubling her over.

A final punch across Ruby's cheek was the end for the young wielder. She landed several feet away, flat on her back, her Keyblade falling from her grip and vanishing.

The darkness receded from her enemy. The masked woman approached the fallen wielder slowly while strapping a large gloved device onto her arm. "Did you know that Atlas is conducting 'extreme experiments' with aura? There are even devices built to transfer aura from one body to another." She knelt in front of her prey, grabbing her by her jacket and holding the palm of the device to her chest. "This glove isn't quite as elegant, but it has allowed me to get this far."

Ruby felt a needle from the devices palm pierce her chest. That was only the start… whatever it was doing, she could feel it forcing it's way around her heart as if searching for something. Her masked companion's eyes turned from prideful to furious. "Where is it? Why can't I find your power!?"

Ruby, using all of her will, raised her arm and grabbed the masked girl's wrist, slowly forcing the device free of her. "I told you..." Ruby's voice was strained, "my power isn't one you can _take_!" Crescent Rose reappeared in her hand and she swung at the arm sporting the likely stolen Atlas tech. The masked woman reeled from the shower of sparks and broken metal.

Free of her foe's grip, Ruby propped herself up on one elbow and pointed her Keyblade at her opponent. Meanwhile the masked woman stared at the broken device. "How… _dare_ you!"

"Please… give me strength..." Ruby prayed, pulling on the connections in her heart until she got an answer. A fresh burst of magic power rushed into her as she Linked with her oldest connection. The young wielder poured all her borrowed strength into Crescent Rose, hoping it would be enough to cast a powerful spell she had never attempted before.

" _Megaflare_!"

The shockwave was more than enough to push the masked woman off-balance, as well as extinguish the ring of fire that had dictated their arena. Chasing the shockwave was a bright white explosion that was unlike anything she had ever felt. The attack didn't seem to relent until the light itself faded, leaving the once fiery woman feeling completely drained, and she fell to her hands and knees.

"No… no, no, I cannot be beaten by a _child_..." The masked woman attempted to find her feet.

"It wasn't…. enough…?" Crescent Rose shook in Ruby's grip. After the beating she had taken and her last hail mary move, she was struggling to stay conscious.

Her foe managed to stand. Although she didn't look much better off than Ruby herself, it wouldn't take much to finish off the young wielder in her current state. The fiery woman raised her fist.

"RUBY!"

Yang led the charge with the rest of RWBY plus Sun in tow. The blonde brawler ran between the masked woman and her prey with fists raised. "And who the hell are _you_?" Weiss and Blake fell into line on either side of Yang, with Sun ready at the enemy's flank.

The masked woman weighed her options, and found them wanting. Even her attempts to summon her newfound darkness only resulted in a normal flame coating her fist. She could finish off a helpless Ruby, yes… but she was in no condition for a four-on-one fight. She looked past Yang to a collapsing Ruby one last time, a scowl hidden beneath her mask. "This isn't over."

A pillar of flame shrouded the woman, and when the fire had faded, she had vanished.

"What the hell!" Sun dashed to the spot the woman once stood. "She got away! How did she even do that?"

"Nevermind that!" Yang shouted, spinning and rushing down to her unconscious sister's side. "Ruby!"

"She's not…?" Weiss feared the worst.

"She's breathing!" Yang assuaged them. "She's breathing..."

"Even so, she's in bad shape," Blake pointed out. "We should get her to Beacon's infirmary."

"Right!" Yang nodded, lifting Ruby into her arms. "Let's go!"


	18. Trust

Ruby was admitted to the infirmary practically the moment they arrived at Beacon. The nurses began their examination right away. As it was already midnight, they told the team they would have to wait until morning for an update. Something that did not sit well with Yang. The blonde couldn't sleep all night, and spent much of it pacing the halls near the infirmary.

Morning finally came, and Yang, Weiss and Blake were let in to see their leader. "Ruby!" Yang cried in relief at seeing her sister awake and healthy.

"Hey, all," Ruby waved as they approached.

"How are you?" Weiss asked.

"I'm just fine," Ruby assured. "Nothing that won't heal. It was mostly exhaustion. All I really needed was rest, I should be out by the end of the day."

"Exhaustion?" Blake questioned.

"Did you learn anything at the rally?" Ruby cut her off quickly.

Blake stumbled over her words for a moment before sighing. "They're moving operations to 'the southeast'. It sounded pretty important. But that's all we got before Roman saw us and we ended up fighting his mech."

"Oh, right. The big robot," Ruby remembered. "What happened with that?"

"We were a little worried without you, but I think we did okay," Weiss told her. "Sun was a big help, to be honest."

"That's good," Ruby nodded. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Speaking of, who even was that woman?" Yang asked.

"I… think she's who's calling the shots. Commanding Torchwick and his partner." Ruby explained.

"The boss attacked you _personally_?" Yang smiled, "Way to go, Rubes!"

"Not 'way to go'!" Weiss argued, "if we're attracting _that_ much attention, maybe it's time to slow down a little."

"Slow down?" Blake scowled. "Just when we're picking up traction?"

"And what exactly are we supposed to do with this 'southwest' information on our own?" Weiss countered. "Do we have any idea _where_ in the southwest?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Not to mention _this_ ," Weiss gestured to Ruby on the medical bed. "Exhaustion or otherwise, Ruby was not winning that fight."

"If we didn't show up when we did..." Yang agreed somberly. "I don't even want to think about it."

Before Blake could respond again, the sound of footsteps drew their attention. The four girls looked up to see none other that the headmaster himself approaching. Ozpin stopped a few feet away, noticing their surprised stares. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Nothing that can't be picked up later," Weiss assured. "Do you need something from us, Professor?"

"I would like a private word with Ms. Rose," Ozpin explained.

Weiss nodded and she and Blake walked away. Yang hung back for a second, looking to her sister.

"I'll be fine," Ruby assured.

Yang nodded and followed after the rest of the team.

Ozpin took a chair and sat himself next to the young leader. "Good morning, Ruby."

"I've had better," Ruby joked.

"As long as you've never had worse," Ozpin smiled.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ruby asked, hoping to get on with things.

Ozpin's face turned serious. "I wish to discuss the woman you encountered last night."

Ruby gave an empty blink. "How do you already know about that?"

"The nurses questioned your team mates about the circumstances of your admission," Ozpin explained, "and the nice thing about electronic reports is that I can see them update in real time from my office. It's a very strange report..."

"Strange how…?" Ruby inquired carefully.

"They describe injuries quite unlike anything they have ever experienced, as if you were attacked with an as-yet unknown weapon. But then they turn around for one moment, and when they returned your injuries had simply vanished." Ozpin's eyes stared down Ruby's own. "Some might say the recovery was downright magical."

Ruby couldn't keep her eyes from widening. After managing to rein them back in, she decided to simply keep her mouth shut before she said anything stupid.

Ozpin had shown his hand enough, and didn't feel comfortable probing further. "That aside, let's return to the intended discussion, shall we?" he suggested instead. "The woman who attacked you?"

Ruby shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you."

"Did she happen to say anything… unusual? Anything you may not have understood?" Ozpin asked.

"She said a lot I didn't understand, but crazy people are like that, right?" Ruby deflected.

"Nothing that sticks out to you?" Ozpin questioned.

"It's hard to examine that much crazy without a degree," Ruby joked.

"I suppose that's fair," Ozpin nodded. Figuring he heard all he would hear, he stood to leave. He took a few steps before stopping, his mind racing. Glynda had, more than once, urged him to let go of his control issue and invite Ruby. To extend the hand of trust. And deep down, he always knew she was right. _Perhaps it is time… but I still must be careful._

"Professor?" Ruby asked after staring at the stock-still man for several moments.

"Ms. Rose. Ruby," Ozpin opened. "Every action I have ever taken has served to protect Remnant and her people. The school that I have built. The students that I have taken in..." He turned back to face the young Keyblade wielder. "The secrets that I keep. I hope that it is clear we are not enemies. I pray that in time, you can come to trust me as an ally."

Ozpin left then, giving Ruby a lot to think about.

* * *

Ruby was discharged not too long after that. As she left the infirmary, she noticed Yang still in the waiting room. Once Yang noticed her, the pair left together, the sister waiting for a moment of solitude.

Once she was sure there was no one around, Yang stopped her sister and pulled her into a quiet corner. "So, how are you really?"

Ruby sighed. "I told you, I'm fine. Exhaustion."

Yang crossed her arms. "Yeah, Blake and Weiss didn't buy that either and they don't even know the secrets I do. We all saw you, Rubes, you looked _bad_.I don't know what that girl hit you with and I'm not sure I _want_ to know."

"Yang..."

"And I get it," the blonde continued. "One little healing spell, and _poof_ , you're physically fine. But are _you_ doing okay, really?"

Ruby looked up and down the hall to double check that they were alone. "I'm… angry. With myself," she finally confessed.

Yang silently urged her sister to continue.

Ruby crossed her arms. "That woman… she used darkness."

Yang's eyes widened. She didn't know much about darkness as a magic power. She did remember her conversation with Riku all those years ago, and she knew Ruby was afraid of it. She knew enough to know how serious that made the situation. "Holy..."

"It's _exactly_ the kind of thing I've been training for, for three years. And I couldn't measure up to a single foe who wasn't even using it on purpose," the Keyblade wielder vented. "Being here at Beacon, trying to hide my power… I don't think I've been getting the training I _need_."

"So... what are you going to do?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to find a place I can practice for real," Ruby planned. "Somewhere quiet I can train my magic and strengthen my light. I'm sure I'm going to face that woman again, and when I do I need to be ready."

"Are you leaving Beacon, then?" Yang wondered.

"Not yet," Ruby shook her head. "It would probably be the smart move, but there are still resources here I can use. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to the team, would it?"

Yang nodded. "Well… you know I always have your back, whatever you decide. You need to skip class or want me to distract the others so you can slip away, just let me know. I'll come up with some excuse for you."

"Are you sure?" Ruby was slightly surprised. "I figured after last night you'd get all… big sister-y?"

"Much as I want to, you're right about this being what you've been training for," Yang explained. "And the _last_ thing I want to do is hold you back."

Ruby smiled and drew her sister into a deep hug. "Thank you, Yang. This would all be a lot harder without you and dad at my back."

Yang returned the hug, "We'll always support you, Rubes. The both of us." The sisters separated, still smiling. "So, back to the dorm?" Yang suggested.

"Nah," Ruby shook her head, "I'm gunna head up to the roof, get some thinking done."

"Alright. Just don't wear yourself out," Yang joked. "See ya later, sis."

* * *

Ruby sat with her feet dangling off the edge of the roof. She didn't know what to think. The situation now was very different than it was twelve hours ago. That woman's command of darkness aside, both she _and_ Ozpin were aware magic existed. "But… are they really? If she really knew about magic, why did she think she could steal mine? And what's with Ozpin talking about 'The secrets he keeps'?"

Something didn't add up. Ruby needed to take a step back and reexamine what she knew. "Master Kairi would know. She always figured things out, when we visited new worlds." Ruby's eyes widened, pieces clicking together in her mind. "New worlds… Maybe it's the fact that this is Remnant that's getting in the way… how would I approach this if it were anywhere else, any normal mission?"

The young Keyblade wielder began to form a theory that fit all the information she had. "First of all, I wouldn't automatically assume it's _my_ magic people know about. But I _know_ there's no magic _here_. Or do I…?"

_The secrets that I keep._

"What if it's a rare magic…? People might not know about it because it's kept secret by people like the headmaster… and it's kept secret because people _can_ steal it. And if that's the case… than there's something a lot bigger going on than a terrorist organization stealing a bunch of Dust."

Ruby wasn't quite sure what she felt about this theory. On one hand, it sounded like situation that could be left to the people already defending Remnant. It wasn't her place to interfere with single-world-level politics. But this was still _her_ world, and even if Ozpin had a group of allies prepared to fight someone with stolen magic, what defenses could they possibly have against the power of darkness?

"I need a way to confirm my theory," Ruby deduced. "Ozpin sounded like he was willing to cooperate, but I can't tell him any of _my_ secrets. Would it really be fair to ask him for his?"

"AIY!" _CRASH_

"AAAHHH!" Ruby screamed at the unexpected shout. She spun around to see someone laying on the ground, just outside of the open roof-access door. She barely recognized the bright orange hair and green eyes. "...Penny?"

Penny shot to her feet, dusting herself off and looking physically unhurt. "Um… Salutations, friend-Ruby!"

Ruby settled back down and calmed her breath. "Don't scare me like that, I nearly fell off the roof! How did you find me anyway?"

Penny's eyes fell. "I simply spotted you from the ground… and when I was making my way up the stairs, I… tripped" _hiccup_. "Excuse me."

Ruby turned back to looked at the ground for any footpath close enough for someone to spot her from. "You really saw me from the ground?"

"I have very good eyes," Penny explained, sitting down next to her. "I'm… sorry I startled you. I didn't mean to..."

Penny's hurt expression tugged at Ruby's heart, and the redhead sighed. "I'm sorry I yelled. I was just startled, like you said. You're fine, Penny."

"So… we are still friends?" Penny asked carefully.

"If you want to be," Ruby smiled.

Penny smiled in return. "So, how did that thing you had to do go?"

"Thing I had to do?" Ruby questioned.

"When you left the coffee shop?" Penny reminded her.

"Oh. Right..." Ruby nodded. "I needed to back up my team. But I ended up in a completely different fight..."

Penny read Ruby's crestfallen face. "You lost?"

"Badly," Ruby nodded.

"What happened?" Penny asked.

"She pulled out something I wasn't prepared for," Ruby explained simply.

"Oh," Penny nodded. "What?"

Ruby wasn't willing to answer that question. She looked her new friend over, noting her uneasy posture. _She's still not comfortable with the whole 'friends' thing, is she?_ "Hey, Penny?"

"Yes Ruby?" Penny replied.

"I've been up here long enough. Why don't we head back in? You can come meet my team!" The young leader suggested.

Penny looked surprised for a moment before smiling. "That… sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Then come on!" Ruby stood and turned to the door, "let's go!"

* * *

Cinder sat, scowling to herself, on her bed in the guest dorms. She didn't exactly lose that fight, but she wouldn't say she won either. After all, here she was, put up in her dorm, avoiding being seen, all so she could recover from injuries she couldn't explain. Injuries that even she didn't understand. Nearby were her two subordinates, Mercury and Emerald.

Mercury was idly flipping through a comic book while Emerald looked toward her boss with concern.

"You know the real tragedy here?" Mercury spoke up apathetically, "that we can't give Roman any more crap about losing to a little girl. He clearly didn't stand a chance."

"Is this all a big joke to you?" Emerald scolded him, "Cinder is really hurt." She finally stood to attend her boss, but was stopped when Mercury grabbed her wrist.

"Em, don't," Mercury warned.

"You expect me to just let her be?" Emerald yanked her wrist out of his grip and took another step away.

"Fine, then, but don't say I didn't warn you." Mercury smirked.

Emerald stopped and turned back to her reluctant partner. "Warn me about what?"

"I mean, do you really think that going over there and offering your help will go over _well_?" Mercury pointed out. "If you make her feel weak, what do you think will happen to you?"

"I won't be suggesting she's weak," Emerald argued.

"If she accepts your help, she'll be admitting she's weak," Mercury explained. "At least, that's how the boss will see it. We're all just her pawns, lesser beings, cannon fodder, all that… and one doesn't accept help from trash."

Emerald _humphed_. "Maybe she sees a peon like _you_ as trash, but it's different between us."

"It's really not, Emerald," Mercury deadpanned. "And if you don't get that through your thick skull, she's only going to punish you again."

Emerald shivered at the mere mention of Cinder's 'punishment'.

"You want to know why _I've_ never been punished?" Mercury continued to taunt. "Because I actually know my place here. So I keep to it. And I make bad jokes. 'Cause the boss expects me to keep to it and to make bad jokes. As long as I don't offend her, I get to live comfortably under her thumb and even get to have a little fun."

Emerald refused to hear what she refused to believe. "Well, maybe that works for you. I'm going to check on the boss."

Mercury only shrugged and returned to his comic. He had already done more than he really cared to do, anyway.

Emerald approached Cinder slowly, watching the magic thief manipulate fire in her palm. "Cinder?"

"What is it, Emerald?" Cinder asked dully without changing position.

"Is, um… there anything you need?" the subordinate asked carefully.

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "Of course not, silly girl."

"Are you sure?" Emerald probed. "Because It wouldn't take-"

The fire in Cinder's palm intensified. "Do. I. Look. Like. I. Need. _Your_. Help?"

Emerald found herself backing away in spite of herself. "O-of c-course not, ma'am..."

"Leave."

Emerald retreated, leaving Cinder by herself again. The dark woman continued to play with the fire in her hand. Thinking. Searching. Finding. After several more minutes, she finally felt something. Her eyes flashed, not amber, but pure yellow. The flame in her hand darkened for a moment, and for the first moment since her fight with Ruby, Cinder Fall smiled.

* * *

_The approach to the door was slow and meticulous. There was a voice on the other side, though it was difficult to tell what it was saying until they pressed their ear to the thin wood._

" _...I wouldn't automatically assume it's my magic people know about. But I know_ _there's no magic here_ _. Or do I…? What if it's a rare magic…? People might not know about it because it's kept secret by people like the headmaster… and it's kept secret because people can steal it. And if that's the case… than there's something a lot bigger going on than a terrorist organization stealing a bunch of Dust…_ _I need a way to confirm my theory. Ozpin sounded like he was willing to cooperate, but I can't tell him any of my secrets. Would it really be fair to ask him for his?_ "

General James Ironwood sat in his office on his flagship, safe from the prying eyes and ears of anyone who would doubt him. He watched and listened intently to the footage coming through his main computer console. "So, Ms. Rose truly knows nothing of the maidens… but she _does_ have knowledge of some kind of magic. Magic that's not from 'here'… What does she mean by 'here'? And where _does_ 'her magic' come from? Then there's Ozpin, 'willing to cooperate'... He is too quick to trust..."

"Did I do a good job, General?"

Ironwood looked up to the voice that caught his attention. The voice of the being who had captured the footage Ironwood studied with her own eyes and ears. Atlas's first successful experimental living android, Penny Polendina.

"Yes, Penny, you have made excellent progress," Ironwood nodded. He heard her hiccup in the recording. "You hiccups. They're an anti-lying safeguard correct?"

"Yes, General," Penny nodded.

"We'll have to see about disabling it, temporarily..." Ironwood stroked his chin.

"So… I'm going to keep spying on Ruby?" Penny asked.

Ironwood detected hesitation in her voice. "Are you concerned about lying to a friend?"

Penny couldn't bring herself to speak, giving a short nod.

"Penny, you must remember that Ms. Rose is _not_ your friend," Ironwood told her. "I understand the confusion. I asked you to cultivate a friendship with Ms. Rose, to earn her trust in the hope of discerning her secrets. But at the end of the day, Ms. Rose is simply the mission and nothing more. Do you understand?"

Penny's head hung low, but she managed a nod. "Yes, sir, General."


	19. Extracurricular

" _THUNDARA!"_

Three Creeper Grimm were caught in the lightning blast that followed the spellcast. Armored boots hit the ground and sprinted ahead without missing a beat. Ruby pushed herself forward, dashing between trees in the Emerald Forest, fighting and fighting and fighting. A Boartusk leaped out of the shrubs, already rolling toward the Keyblade wielder. Ruby stopped short to set up the zantetsuken. In a blink of an eye, the Boartusk was severed clean in half.

Ruby slowly straightened her pose, catching her breath. She hadn't slowed down since sunrise and it was starting to show. A feeling distracted her, surprising her out of her heavier breathing. She watched heartless rise from the ground and step out of shadows. "I was wondering when you would show up..." Ruby lowered into her combat stance, ready to continue.

* * *

Breakfast that morning was a lonely affair for Yang. She was used to Ruby and Weiss being late because of their drills, but she could usually rely on Blake making it to the dining hall before she did. This morning, Blake was missing as well. Yang frowned. Her faunus partner didn't appear to be in the best of moods after their investigation the other day. "I hope she's doing alright..."

"Good morning, Yang," Weiss's voice caught the blonde's attention.

"Mornin'," Yang greeted back, happy at least one of her team finally showed up. _But if Weiss is here, where's Ruby?_

Weiss looked around the cafeteria before sitting down and asking, "By the way, did Ruby mention anything to you about skipping morning drills again?"

"No," Yang replied, "she wasn't there?"

"No," Weiss responded, "at first I thought 'maybe I got here first for once', but she never showed up."

"Huh," Yang did her best to sound surprised. "I dunno what to tell you."

Weiss was silent for a moment, and Yang could tell something was on her mind. "Weiss?"

"Sorry," Weiss answered quickly, "I was just thinking… do you think she's found somewhere else to practice? Alone?"

"What?" Yang's surprise was real this time, "why would you think that?"

"No matter what she says, she lost pretty hard to the ringleader" Weiss explained. "She's at such a high skill level… perhaps she's worried going through a lower level class is dulling her?"

_Wow… Weiss really is way too smart for her own good._ "I don't know what to tell you. She hasn't said anything to me," Yang lied.

"Alright. I suppose I'll talk to her in class," Weiss shrugged and began to eat. Yang frowned and opened her scroll under the table, stealthily sending a warning text to her sister.

Scroll safely back in her pocket, Yang opened up to Weiss about the other topic on her mind. "So, I'm guessing you have no idea where Blake is either?"

"Nope," Weiss shook her head. "I haven't seen her since last night."

A few more minutes into the meal, Yang noticed Professor Goodwitch enter the hall. Experience taught Yang to dread whenever that particular teacher approached her. _Like she's doing right now…_

"Ms. Xiao Long-"

"I didn't do anything!" Yang immediately blurted. Weiss and Goodwitch stared at her. "...Right?"

Glynda sighed. "Allow me to start over, without interruptions this time? _Ahem._ Ms. Xiao Long, Ms. Schnee, just the two people I was looking for."

"So I'm not in trouble?" Yang asked.

"Yang!" Weiss scolded.

Glynda's next sigh turned quickly into a groan. "I actually had an extra assignment I was willing to offer you two, however-"

"Oh, no no, wait!" Weiss quickly interrupted. "I'm sure we can handle this assignment. You must have come to us for a reason, right?"

Glynda's eyes passed from Weiss to Yang. "I'm just going to stay quiet before I mess up again," Yang stated, raising her hands in surrender.

Glynda rolled her eyes. "I figured Ms. Xiao Long is in tune with what is popular among the youth, and I figured you could keep her more wild fantasies in check while bringing some decorum to the affair."

Yang lowered her arms, interested. "Okay, this is sounding like it could be fun?"

"Very well," Glynda nodded, "as long as you can be serious about this..."

* * *

_Weiss figured out you're training on your own. Pretty easily, too._

"Well, that's not entirely surprising," Ruby nodded. She shoved her scroll back into her pocket as she made her way through Beacon's empty hall. Her training had gone on a little longer than she intended, and classes had already started. She was hoping rushing into combat class wouldn't be too awkward. _Maybe there's an active duel, and nobody will notice the door!_

She was wrong on both counts. She happened to walk in between duels and Professor Goodwitch jumped at the chance to make things awkward. "Ms. Rose! I see you've decided to grace us with your presence."

"Sorry," Ruby offered, "I just lost track of time."

"I'm sure you'll be more than willing to make up that time after class, correct?" Glynda's face made it clear it wasn't really a question.

"Of course, professor," Ruby nodded. She ran up to the seats and sat down next to her partner.

Weiss noticed Ruby open up a brown paper bag and pull out a sandwich. "The kitchens made you a late breakfast?" she asked.

"Apparently it's called a 'tardy bag'," Ruby explained. "I guess students missing breakfast is common enough to have a counter measure."

"I see," Weiss noted, slightly impressed by the school's preemptive thinking. She waited until the next duel started to bring up her next topic. Once the lights dimmed and everyone was watching the fight, Weiss leaned toward her partner. "Where were you anyways? You missed our morning drills."

"Yeah… I probably won't be at those for a while," Ruby admitted between bites of her sandwich.

"You're training, aren't you?" Weiss stated plainly.

"Yeah, I am," Ruby admitted. _No point in lying, even if she didn't already figure it out._

"Did losing to that woman really affect you that much?" Weiss asked.

"It wasn't just _losing_ to her..." Ruby confessed.

"Than what?" Weiss pressed.

Ruby weighed her next words carefully. "Part of my training was… very specialized. And that woman used something I should have been ready for..." _sigh..._ "but I wasn't."

"Okay," Weiss accepted. "But why leave me behind? Surly you would benefit by having someone to train with?"

"Well..." Ruby winced. _I can't tell her why I'm training alone… the whole point is to keep my magic secret._

"Oh… I see…" Weiss's eyes cast downward, "I would slow you down, right?"

"Uh… Yes," Ruby decided to go with it. "I'm not trying to be arrogant or rude or anything," Ruby quickly added, trying not to make things sound absolutely horrible.

"No, I understand. Honestly, I do," Weiss swallowed her own pride. "I actually forget sometimes that you have three years of training on the rest of the team. You won't get better with me hanging off of you, and that's just a fact."

"That still doesn't make it sound any better..." Ruby pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right… there's _no_ way to make it sound 'good'. But we're okay, I promise," Weiss flashed a smile for added affect.

Ruby smiled back. "Thanks Weiss." _And I'm sorry I can't come up with a lie that makes you feel better._

The fight finished, and Glynda dismissed the class. "Now I know you're all excited for the dance this weekend, but remember you all have your first missions on Monday. Ms. Rose?"

"Be right down!" Ruby nodded, dashing down the steps. They ended up waiting for the students to file out. "I probably could have walked down here..." the young leader noted.

"Ms. Belladonna seems especially sluggish," Glynda pointed out.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed tentatively, watching her team mate slogged out the door with her nose in her notebook. "Anyway..." she turned back to her professor.

"Ms. Rose," Goodwitch launched into her spiel, "I am fully aware of your unique situation. However, that doesn't mean I can give you unique treatment. Ultimately, _you_ decided to come here, and we expect you to follow our rules."

"A little much for my first time being late ever..." Ruby argued.

"It is only your first time, yes, so you are not in any major trouble," Glynda assured. "But you must understand that regardless of how you view your time here, the other students look up to you."

"Wait, what? When? Why?" Ruby asked.

"You were invited to Beacon two years under the minimum age and are directly responsible for two major arrests in the span of six months," Glynda explained. "Everyone at Beacon knows who you are."

"Just like Penny said..." Ruby recalled under her breath.

"Who is Penny?" Glynda questioned.

"A visiting student from Atlas. I think we're friends?" Ruby explained.

"Really?" Glynda said, surprised. "I wasn't aware you were branching out beyond your team."

"Eh, she kinda sought me out," Ruby confessed. "I don't think she has a lot of friends, I figured, 'what's the harm'?"

"What's the harm, indeed," Glynda's eyes narrowed. _A nobody Atlas student seeking out Ms. Rose? James wouldn't…_ _would he?_

Ruby noticed her professor's mood shift. "Ms. Goodwitch?"

Glynda cleared her throat, "You are excused Ms. Rose. You should catch up with your team."

"Right. Of course," Ruby turned to leave.

"Ms. Rose," Glynda called out suddenly. "I won't tell you how to make friends, however… be careful with Atlas. The General has good intentions, but good intentions does not always lead to good decisions."

"Um… sure… thank you, professor..." Ruby finally left the classroom, extremely confused. She was still working through her thoughts as she stepped outisde.

A familiar shiver passed through her spine as a group of Haven students passed her. Ruby's eyes passed over the courtyard, looking at nothing but taking in something else. Something that had been bubbling under the surface since the Atlas ships arrived.

* * *

Weiss and Yang cut through the courtyard on the way to their next class, with Blake trailing a few feet behind them. Sun caught all three of their attention when he called out to Blake. "Hey, you okay?" the monkey faunus followed.

"I'm fine," Blake answered curtly.

"So, anyway… I hear there's this dance this weekend," Sun moved on. "Sounds pretty lame, but you and me, I'm thinking not _as_ lame, eh?"

Blake's bagged eyes turned up in disbelief. "What?"

"The dance, this weekend!" Sun repeated, "You wanna go or what?"

Blake scoffed and turned away. "I don't have time for a stupid dance," she answered vocally. "I thought _you_ of all people would understand that."

Weiss watched Sun walk away dejected and waited until Blake was out of earshot before turning to Yang. "This is getting to be too much."

"You mean Blake?" Yang deduced.

"Of course I mean Blake!" Weiss nearly shouted. "She's running on empty. She needs to rest before she shuts down completely. _We_ need to do something."

"Hm," Yang thought for a few moments. "I think I got an idea… but we should probably get Rubes on board," the blonde noticed her sister had entered the courtyard. The pair strode toward their leader with Yang calling her name the whole way. "Ruby! Rubes! Ruby?" Yang grabbed her sister's shoulder, finally catching her attention. "Hey, Ruby?"

"Huh?" Ruby spun her head back around. "Sorry, what's up?"

"Oh no, not you too," Weiss groaned.

"Not me too, what?" Ruby asked.

"We already have one teammate with their head on crooked," Weiss explained, "the last thing we need is our leader off kilter as well."

"I was just lost in thought for a moment," Ruby defended.

"Speaking of Blake," Yang cut in, "s _he's_ exactly what we wanted to talk about."

"She is kind of running herself ragged..." Ruby nodded. "All right, what's the plan?"

* * *

The team waited until after classes to spring the news on Blake. It was well after sundown when they finally sprung the news on the faunus herself.

"You want me to do _what_!?"

She did not react well.

"We want you to go to the dance," Ruby repeated.

"That's ridiculous," Blake scoffed.

Yang placed her hand over her partners. "We're worried about you, Blake. This investigation is starting to mess with your head."

"You don't sleep, you don't sleep, and to be honest, your grades are suffering," Weiss counted off.

"You think I care about grades!?" Blake shouted, " _Lives_ are on the line!"

"We know, and we're still trying to figure out what they're up to," Yang assured.

"We know they have an operation in the southwest, and thanks to Schnee Company records, only Vale has had an increase is Dust robberies," Weiss expanded.

"But there are still unanswered questions!" Blake argued.

"You won't be able to find anything if you can't keep your eyes open," Ruby countered.

"All we're asking is you take it easy for one day," Yang insisted.

"It will be fun!" Weiss nodded, "Yang and I will make sure of it!"

"Yeah, we're planning the whole event!" Yang announced.

"Team CVFY was supposed to run the event, but their mission is lasting longer than expected," Weiss explained.

"So professor Goodwitch asked us to take over," Yang explained further. "And now we can make sure you have the perfect night!"

"And once it's all over, we'll return to our search rested and ready," Weiss smiled triuphantly.

"So what do you think?" Ruby asked.

Blake stood, looking over her team. "I think… this is a colossal waste of time," she finally answered. "I'll be in the library."

Yang frowned as she watched the hidden faunus leave the dorm. _Sigh_ , "What are we supposed to do now?"

"I suppose we get to work on the dance," Weiss stood. "We only have until Sunday. Blake or no Blake, we took on a responsibility."

"I guess..." Yang shook her head dismissively. "You wanna come help, Rubes?"

"Actually," Ruby winced. "I think I'm going to get some more practice in before bed."

"Oh brothers..." Weiss crossed her arms. "Yang, I'm starting to think we need to have a repeat discussion, but with our leader this time."

"Hey, I'm not going overboard, I promise," Ruby assured. "I'm not even sore. I used to have way harder days," Ruby waved her hand dismissively. "Sparring with Master Terra can be brutal."

Weiss quickly fixed a curious stare onto Ruby. "I thought your master's name was 'Kairi'?"

"Um..." Ruby stalled. "I mean… do you only have one professor?"

Weiss didn't seem convinced. "I guess that makes sense, but then… Where is 'Terra'? Why didn't _they_ take you in when Kairi left for her mission?"

"Um… well..." Ruby floundered.

Yang stepped in quickly to save her sister. "Terra had a student of his own to focus on, he couldn't take Ruby full time."

Weiss still didn't look convinced, but she nodded regardless. "Okay."

_Ahem,_ "Anyway, we should get started on that dance!" Yang grabbed Weiss's hand and led her out of the dorm. "Stay safe Rubes!"

"I will," Ruby returned as she followed the pair out the door, splitting up in the hallway.

Weiss turned back to look over her leader. It was clearer, now more than ever, that Ruby was hiding something. But what, and why? _I don't have time for this right now… but the moment I do, I am getting right to the bottom of things._


	20. Taking a Break

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To apologize for the extended break between the last few chapters, and because I'm on a roll and finished this one in two days, here is the next chapter! Please enjoy!

Yang and Weiss had a lot to do and very little time to do it. They spent several hours preparing for the dance, only leaving to sleep the night before returning to the event hall first thing in the morning. Tensions were already starting to run a little high.

"Weiss! I said no doilies!" Yang shouted.

"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss yelled back.

"Doilies and fog machines?" Ruby's voice made the pair jump.

"Ruby!?" Weiss tried to compose herself quickly. "I thought you were training again this morning?"

"I did. I finished my routine," Ruby told her. "So, what exactly is the theme of this dance?"

"Traditionally the Vytal Festival Academy Ball is, well… A ball," Weiss explained.

"So, doilies…" Ruby nodded, "But where does the fog machine come into play?"

"Balls are boring!" Yang defended. "Glynda said she wanted me because I know what's popular these days, and ballroom dancing is not popular!"

"Right..." Ruby nodded. "Well, good luck, I guess."

"Wait!" Weiss stopped the young leader before she walked out. "What do you think?"

"I… have no idea," Ruby admitted.

" _Ugh,_ " Weiss rolled her eyes, "you're useless."

The three girls turned to the door as they heard it open. Sun walked in, greeting, "Yo yo yo! What's up, ladies?" while flashing finger-guns.

Weiss rolled her eyes for a second time. "Don't you have anyone else to hang out with?"

"Not really," Sun shrugged. "My team still hasn't shown up. I'm guessing Neptune is making travel difficult."

"What, is he afraid of water?" Yang joked.

"Actually, yes," Sun answered with a completely straight face.

Yang didn't have a response to that, and simply stared awkwardly.

"So!" The energetic Sun was quick to cut off the silence, "You girls excited to play dress up?"

"Why would I be dressing up?" Ruby shook her head. "Not like I have anyone to dress up for."

"C'mon, Rubes! You _gotta_ wear a dress to a dance," Yang argued. "Not to toot my own horn, but I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!"

"What about Blake?" Sun asked. "She even goin'? Or is she still being all… Blake-y?"

Weiss's face fell. "I'm sure you know the answer to that."

"Well, we'll have fun with or without Ms. Grumpypants," Yang declared confidently. "Long as I get my fog machines!" she added, staring down Weiss.

"Sure, add whatever you want," Weiss spoke dismissively.

Yang's face instantly turned to one of concern. "Weiss?"

Weiss sighed and crossed her arms. "I know we should be organizing this dance for everyone, but I was actually looking forward to using it to help Blake as well. She's our team mate, we can't leave her like this."

The room turned to a somber quiet. Even Sun didn't know how to restore the mood, deciding, "I'm just gunna get outta here..." and leaving.

Weiss examined the doily still in her hand before dropping it on the table, her face set as confident determination. "I'm going to get out of here as well," she told them, leaving herself shortly after.

Yang watched the door close before turning to her sister. "What do you think she's up to?"

"I wonder..." Ruby responded, thoughtful. "So, do you need any help in here?"

"I'd love it, but it's probably _not_ a good idea," Yang answered. "Weiss is getting a big enough headache just dealing with me, and you're not exactly 'in touch' with what's popular around here, if you know what I mean."

"Should I just get out of your way, then?" Ruby asked, pointing to the door with her thumb.

"Depends..." Yang crossed her arms, "are you wearing a dress to the dance?"

"Yang!" Ruby scolded.

"What?" Yang smiled innocently. "C'mon, sis! How are we supposed to get Blake to relax if you're not relaxed yourself?"

"I'm plenty relaxed! I'm sitting through this dumb conversation right now when I could still be in the Emerald Forest training," Ruby pointed out.

"It's just one night," Yang argued.

"It's weird enough wearing the school uniform every day, I'd just be uncomfortable," Ruby resisted.

"It'll be fun!" Yang smile failed, "why are you being weird about this?"

"Uh, when am I not weird?" Ruby deflected.

When her eyes didn't meet Yang's, the blonde knew for sure something deeper was afoot. "Ruby, what's up? Should I be worried?"

"No!" Ruby shouted quickly. "I'm sure it won't be anything at all. Mostly sure..."

"Ruby," Yang pressed sternly.

Ruby finally relented, double checking that they were alone and taking a step closer to Yang to speak quietly. "Look, I didn't want to worry you. It's just that, ever since the visiting students first showed up, darkness has slowly been blanketing the school. I've been feeling it for weeks."

"You mean how everyone's weirded out by the warships, or..." Yang's eyes nervously darted to one side, "y-your kind of darkness?"

"My kind of darkness," Ruby stated firmly.

"Do you think something's going to happen at the dance?" Yang asked.

"If I thought so, I'd let you know," Ruby promised. "It's not even about the dance itself, the whole thing could go off without a hitch. But all the people in this school right now, so many hearts… not to mention the darkness user I fought." _Sigh,_ "I didn't speak up because I wanted everyone to enjoy themselves if it turns out nothing happens. But I'm also going to wear my enchanted gear as much as possible. Even to the dance. Just in case."

Yang's concern showed on her face. "You sure I shouldn't gear up too?"

"I can handle a few heartless on my own, and everyone in this school is a fighter," Ruby assured. "Besides, I really have been getting stronger the last few days, I can feel it."

Yang frowned for a moment, but soon nodded. "Alright, I trust you."

"Thank you, Yang," Ruby smiled.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Yang mischievously rubbed her hands together, "I got some fog machines to hide before Weiss gets back!"

Ruby chuckled. "I guess I should establish some plausible deniability. See you later, sis!" Ruby waved and left the hall while her sister got to work.

* * *

While that discussion was happening, Weiss was intent on having a discussion of her own. She bee-lined for the library in order to fulfill this mission. It was there she found her target, sitting at one of the computer terminals. Blake didn't notice Weiss approach, and appeared to be nearly asleep in her seat. "There you are."

Weiss's voice nearly made Blake jump out of her chair. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to have a discussion," Weiss told her bluntly. She grabbed the faunus's hand and dragged her right out of the library. "Let's go somewhere we can speak alone."

A few minutes later, Blake was successfully dragged into a currently empty classroom. After letting this much happen, Blake finally jerked her hand out of Weiss's. "Look, if you're going to tell me to stop, save it."

"No one wants you to stop, Blake," Weiss assured. "We want you to slow down, take a break. Relax, that's all."

"I don't have the luxury to relax," Blake argued.

"It's not a matter of luxury," Weiss insisted. "If you don't get some rest, you won't have the energy you need when the situation demands it."

"The situation demands we stop Torchwick and his little sidekick!" Blake shouted.

"And who's going to do that?" Weiss countered. "You?"

"Of course me!" Blake stubbornly stated.

"You really think you could stop him if he were to walk through that door right now?" Weiss pointed out.

"Yes!" Blake cried desperately.

"Then prove it." Weiss pulled two weapons off her belt, her own Myrtenaster and Blake's Gambol Shroud. Weiss handed her faunus team mate her black sword and took a few steps back. "If you leave this room, I'll let you do whatever you want without speaking up again. But you'll have to go through me to get to the door."

Blake gripped her weapon tightly and scowled. Eager to prove herself, she charged Weiss and brought her weapon down. Suddenly there was a flash of steel and a sharp pain in her wrist. Gambol Shroud flew from her hand and landed several feet away on the ground. Blake quickly grabbed her injured wrist, the deep cut still bleeding.

"Dear brothers, it's worse than I thought," Weiss stared at the cut with wide eyes.

"It doesn't matter," Blake spoke through gritted teeth.

"Doesn't matter? You can't even keep your aura up!" Weiss pointed out.

"I'm not going to stop!" Blake yelled.

"We're not asking you to stop!" Weiss reiterated. "We just want you to get some sleep and take it easy for _one night_."

"You wouldn't tell Ruby to 'take it easy'!" Blake argued.

"That's another thing, you need to stop using Ruby as a shield," Weiss told her. "First of all, she's not going to be around forever. And secondly, you're not even paying attention to what she's doing."

"You mean the hours of secretive extra training?" Blake countered.

"Yes, she's putting herself through extra training, and no, I wouldn't ask her to slow down. But only because I don't _have_ to," Weiss explained. "The difference with her is that she's not destroying herself in the process. Ruby makes sure she still eats and sleeps. She even makes an effort to attend class, and we both know she has no intention to graduate. If you were really trying to emulate her, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

Blake finally took a moment to think, while tracing the cut on her wrist with her other hand. "But… how are we suppose to stop them if we don't put the work in?"

"We _are_ putting the work in," Weiss countered. "This isn't a small problem that can be solved overnight. That's what you need to understand, that this isn't a sprint so much as a marathon. And we have to pace ourselves."

Blake stayed quiet. She moved to pick up her sword, and with a sigh, finally conceded by sheathing it on her back.

Weiss smiled and placed a comforting hand on Blake's arm. "Get some sleep tonight, and if your up to it, have some fun at the dance tomorrow. Once your head's right and you can finally stand up straight, we'll discuss our next step as a team. I promise."

Blake simply nodded. Weiss let her go and the faunus left, this time for her bed in the dorm. Weiss took a moment to be proud of herself before leaving the classroom herself. She turned back after closing the door to make sure it was locked, and noticed someone leaning against the wall nearby. "Ruby?"

"Hey, Weiss," Ruby greeted back. She pushed herself off the wall and stood next to her partner. "So, you got through to her?"

"I believe so," Weiss reported.

"Good." Ruby smiled and patted Weiss on the back, "It's good to know that when I do leave, I'll be leaving this team in good hands."

Surprise registered on her face for a moment. The heiress quickly squashed her ego, though allowed a small grin to remain. "I won't let you down."

"I know," Ruby nodded. "Now I do believe you have a dance to plan."

"Yes," Weiss recalled. "First order of business, find where your sister decided to hide her blasted fog machines." She turned on her heel to speed-walk to the event hall.

Ruby chuckled watching her go. After Weiss left her line of sight, Ruby looked up and down the hall and realized something. "Now what am I going to do with my day?"

"Friend Ruby!"

"I guess that answers that question," Ruby decided quickly to casually roll with this new development. She turned to face her strange friend. "Hey Penny!"

Penny finished approaching the young leader and smiled. "How are you today?"

"Sensational!" Ruby answered, mimicking Penny. "I was just looking for something to do, and I'm a little tired of Beacon's halls. Wanna hang out in Vale?"

Penny clapped her hands together and answered, "That sounds wonderful!"

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Ruby and Penny were walking out of an ice cream shop together with a fudge pop and a cup of sherbet respectively. Penny seemed very excited about the frozen treat, though admittedly no more excited than she was about literally everything else. "This is incredible! I've never had ice cream before! Atlas is very cold, and most traditional foods and desserts are warm."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded along. "It's just too bad they don't have my favorite flavor. It is pretty rare, though."

"What flavor is that?" Penny asked, taking another bite of her sherbet.

"Sea-salt Ice Cream," Ruby recalled fondly. "We would all hang out on the cliffs down from the castle. We would laugh at stupid jokes and take bets on where… where..."

Penny noted Ruby trailing off. "Ruby?"

"Sorry," Ruby forced a smile on her face. "I haven't seen my other friends in a while and… I kind of _really_ miss them."

"Where are they now?" Penny asked.

"Somewhere far away…" Ruby answered vaguely.

Penny didn't want things to fall to silence, and looked for anything to latch onto to start a new topic. "I… assume your gauntlet must be hard to work on. I can see repairs are slow."

"Slow?" Ruby was confused. "Try 'non-existant'. I wish I knew how to fix it."

Penny's eyebrow raised. "I could be mistaken, but the damage to your gauntlet appears to be one-point-eight less severe then when I saw you last."

"Really?" Ruby examined her gauntlet for the first time in months. She wasn't as confident as Penny seemed to be about its prior state, but it seemed the large crack in the main plate may have closed a little bit. "Huh..."

"So if you're not repairing it, how is it..."

It was Penny's turn to trail off, which worried the young Keyblade wielder. The strange girl was normally unflappably upbeat, Ruby didn't think it was possible for her to trail off. She followed Penny's line of sight to a demonstration by Atlas of their new unmanned peacekeeping units.

A pre-recorded hologram of General Ironwood was addressing the crowd, motioning to the dull, gray robots that had served as automated policemen for years. "The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree?"

The crowd cheered, and Ruby took a side glance back at Penny. Penny only seemed to grow more uncomfortable as the presentation continued.

"But the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'? Well, that's just not good enough, is it?" The hologram carried on. "Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!" it motioned dramatically to the newer, sleeker, white-plated robots.

Penny seemed close to a full-blown meltdown at this point. She turned to Ruby, desperation in her eyes. "Can we go somewhere else, please?"

"Of course," Ruby nodded. The pair quickly turned their backs on the presentation and walked away. The strange scenario was less strange to Ruby than a passing onlooker might think. It certainly backed up the theory Ruby has held about her new friend since they first met. A theory that Ruby found more and more likely every time she hung out with Penny Polendina.


	21. A Dance in Darkness, pt. 1

Ozpin couldn't help but to smile. Young people from all over the world smiling, interacting, dancing, perhaps even falling in love… The Vytal Ball was definitely his favorite part of the festivities. It was only the beginning of the night and things seemed to already be going well. The sound of the door opening again brought his attention to the newcomer. His infamous curiosity spiked as it always seemed to when Ruby Rose did something interesting, such as showing up to a dance in her normal clothing that doubled as her combat gear.

Weiss, being on door duty at that moment to greet students as they came in, was also quick to notice. "Why aren't you wearing a dress?"

"I said yesterday I wasn't wearing one, remember? When Sun was there?" Ruby reminded her.

"Oh, right," Weiss nodded.

"So, I can't help but notice a haze of fog on the dance floor," Ruby mentioned.

"Oh yes, _that_ ," Weiss spat. "It was a… compromise. Trust me, it turned to be the _least_ ridiculous of your sister's ideas."

"Is Blake here?" Ruby asked.

"She is!" Weiss reported proudly, a smile finally gracing her face. "She arrived with Sun just a few minutes before you did."

Ruby smiled back. "Keep up the good work!"

"Enjoy the dance!" Weiss waved her leader off and continued to watch the door.

Ruby kept to the edges of the hall to avoid getting pulled onto the dance floor by a wild Yang. She soon spotted Blake by the punch bowl looking much better than she did the day before. The feline faunus was standing straighter, the bags under her eyes were gone, and she was even smiling while talking with Sun and a few other faunus. "You're looking much better!" Ruby complimented.

"I'm feeling better," Blake smiled. "I'm sorry for making you all worry."

"You had things to work through. You just needed a little help pushing through them," Ruby smiled back. "Don't worry about it anymore. And have fun tonight."

"I will," Blake nodded.

"I'll make sure of it!" Sun cut in.

Ruby giggled at the monkey faunus. "Take good care of her. Hey, have either of you seen Penny? She said she would be here, and I promised we'd hang out. She doesn't have many friends. Or _any_ other friends, I think."

"You mean that weird 'salutations' girl?" Sun pointed behind him with his thumb. "I think I saw her back that way."

"Thanks Sun!" Ruby set off the direction he indicated.

* * *

Penny continued to scan the crowd for Ruby. A smile crept onto her face from the mere anticipation of seeing the young leader. The android knew that Ruby was just a mission, that she was supposed to be spying on the secretive young woman. But she couldn't help but feel a bond had formed between them despite the General's directive.

A frown snuck onto her face at the thought of the general. Their discussion the night before was not a happy one. After reviewing the footage, Ironwood was less than happy with her progress the past few weeks. He was even _less_ happy than that at the idea Penny and Ruby were getting too close. She could still hear him yelling…

"Friend Penny!"

Penny's smile returned quickly as she turned to face her frie- _mission! My mission._ "Ruby!"

Ruby and Penny shared a brief hug, much to the latter's surprise. "You having fun?"

"I haven't been dancing, but I do enjoy watching the others!" Penny answered. "Although I do have one question."

"What about?" Ruby asked.

"What does the ambient fog have to do with traditional ballroom dancing?" Penny looked to the layer of water vapor swallowing the dancers' feet.

"Absolutely nothing," Ruby told her honestly.

Penny was only confused further. "Then why is it present?"

"Because my sister is stubborn," Ruby chuckled.

"I see," Penny responded.

Ruby turned slowly to arch her eyebrow at the android. "Do you?"

"Absolutely not," Penny admitted.

Smiles broke across both of their faces which soon evolved into chuckles and then all out laughter. After the laughter, the smiles never left their faces.

"You said you enjoy watching the dancers," Ruby opened the next topic. "Do you not like dancing yourself?"

"I've never tried it," Penny confessed.

"Hm," Ruby thought for a moment. "Do you want to try it?"

Penny would have blushed if she were capable, and blushed _hard_. "I-isn't that something that… c-c-couples do?"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh at the android's reaction. "We don't need to be dating to have one dance. How do you think people learn?"

"Do you know how to dance?" Penny asked.

"I know the basics," Ruby replied apprehensively. "By which I mean I've heard fighting is a lot like dancing… And I know how to fight..."

Penny crossed her arms at the young leader.

"Okay, I have no idea," Ruby confessed, "but how hard can it be?"

"I think we'd better not," Penny decided. "It would be hard enough if we _could_ see our feet."

"That is actually a good point," Ruby nodded.

The pair fell back to silence as the topic ended. While they were quiet, another pair of students came off the dance floor and sat at a nearby table. The current quiet between Penny and Ruby allowed them to pick up the nearby conversation with ease.

"Oh, hey, did you see that Atlas presentation yesterday?"

"You mean the one with the new 'Knight' model? Yeah, dude, those things are sleek!"

"The white bodies, the expressive poses. So cool."

Penny couldn't stop her flinch.

"So you think they have an all black version?"

"For what?"

"Stealth Ops, dude! You gotta have a stealth model!"

"Why would they need a stealth model? Who uses stealth against Grimm?"

_Who uses stealth against Grimm..._

"Um, Penny?" Ruby noticed Penny's rapidly declining mood.

"Y'know, their articulation is pretty realistic."

"What brought that thought on, dude?"

"Well, you were talking about stealth models… I was wondering why make them black? Maybe you can make them look like people?"

Ruby placed her hand on Penny's shoulder. "Are you okay…?"

"That… would actually be kind of scary, dude. You're really scary sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess you have a point. Machines with human faces, but no free will. How could you ever trust anyone ever again?"

"Penny?"

"I have to go."

Penny would never remember making a conscious decision to leave or where to go. She simply found herself on a balcony, catching fresh air she knew she didn't actually _need_ , but it did feel good. _Who uses stealth against Grimm… Machines with human faces… no free will…_ Penny looked down at her own hands, wondering for perhaps the first time ever, "Why was I built...?"

"Penny! Penny, where did you go? Penny!" Ruby's voice could be heard, getting closer with each call of the android's name. Penny herself turned around just in time to see Ruby find her balcony. "There you are!"

"Oh… hello, Ruby." Penny attempted to greet casually, but she just knew it came out depressed.

Ruby stepped past Penny to lean on the balcony. She stared across the rooftops of Vale, gathering her words. "So… those Atlesian Knights _are_ kinda cool."

Penny leaned onto the balcony next to Ruby. "You… like them too?" she questioned anxiously.

"As much as I like the next cold, unfeeling machine," Ruby shrugged.

"Right..." Penny's head drooped.

"And you, Penny, are nothing like that."

Penny's eyes widened and she slowly stepped back. "...What?"

Ruby smirked. _Bingo_. "You are nothing like those things we saw yesterday."

"Of course I'm not!" Penny shouted quickly. "I'm human, after all. W-why would you say… that?"

Ruby pushed off the stone railing to turn and face the android. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Penny blinked. "Secret...?" She should have been excited, this level of trust what exactly what her mission called for. So why did she feel anxious at the thought of performing her duties?

Ruby pressed on, unconcerned. "You're not the first person I met that wasn't exactly made of flesh and blood. You have your own soul. And your own heart, I can feel it." The Keyblade wielder placed her hand over the center of Penny's chest, feeling that special kind of light she was so familiar with. "It doesn't matter that you were made and not born. You are your own person. You can think and feel and make your own decisions. You are _not_ a cold, unfeeling machine. You're Penny."

Penny didn't know what to think or say. She could only stare at her friend while she processed her thoughts. _Not my friend, my mission… or is she?_

"That being said, your chassis is actually _very_ cold," Ruby pointed out, her hand still on Penny's chest. "Is that normal? Shouldn't you have a heating system? To counter thermal detection or something? Or is it normal? Am I thinking too hard about this?"

"I have to go..." Penny backed away toward the threshold back inside, "again, I have to go again."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Ruby winced. "Was it the chassis thing? Is it too soon to talk about that stuff? I'm super sorry!"

"No! You're fine. You're great! You're..." Penny clenched her fists trying to calm herself. "You're a great friend, Ruby. I just need a bit of time. I'm sorry. I gotta go. Again. Sorry."

One more dash through corridors that barely registered in her memory bank later, and Penny was finally alone with her thoughts. She felt torn. She was literally built for this kind of mission, so why did it feel wrong? Could she lie to Ironwood? _Can I keep lying to Ruby…?_

Betray those she was built to serve. Or betray the only person to see her as her own being, and worthy of friendship. She didn't know what to do. Mere moments after Ruby assured her she had free will such was proven, perhaps cruelly, as Penny was faced with the dilemma of choice.

* * *

Cinder hid herself in the shadows near the school, her eyes set on the CCT tower. For her plan to work she needed access to Beacon's infrastructure, and the communications tower was intrinsically tied to every public system. Including the school's. _It'll be simple. Take out a few guards, drop the bug, and get out. I'll be back at Beacon in time for the next dance._

Cinder raised her hand in front of her. Her eyes flashed yellow. Black and purple smoke emanated from her fingertips. The dark woman smiled. She still didn't understand where this strange new power came from, but she could feel its strength. Cinder stepped out of the shadows, darkness coating her fist.

And unwittingly leaving a wave of darkness in her wake. As she made her way to the tower, plumes of darkness rising from the very ground behind her went unnoticed.

* * *

With her planned diversion for the dance literally running away from her, Ruby returned to the event hall with no idea how she was going to pass the time. She found herself gravitating to the punch bowl with the other social outcasts that weren't talking to anybody. _A_ _t least the student_ _body_ _at large is still enjoying the dance,_ Ruby thought, smiling to herself.

Her spine shivered and her smile fell as she felt it once again. The darkness that had settled across campus. Her gaze panned over the entire dance hall and right out the window. _It wasn't here before, it had to have come from somewhere._

Ruby's eyes narrowed as the creeping up her spine intensified. _Something's wrong. Is something going to happen?_ Out on the grounds beyond the window, Ruby could barely make out a familiar figure strutting away. As well as the dark energy rising from the pavement. "No..." Her gaze darted back to the event hall floor, but she couldn't tell if the same thing was happening amid an ever thickening haze of artificial fog. Ruby made her way quickly to the edge of the dance floor and knelt down, attempting to swipe enough of the fog away to see.

A scream drew every eye in the hall to a pair near the center. A girl had fallen backward, separated from her partner. And between the two, leaping into the air between them, was the exact thing Ruby had feared all week. A heartless, a Soldier to be precise, with the sound of jostling metal accompanying sharp claws. The girl screamed again as her rear hit the floor, and the Soldier heartless made to follow her to the ground, claw extended.

A flash of light and a red blur saw the creature destroyed. From her position on the ground, Ruby had easily launched herself forward, summoning her Crescent Rose to strike the Soldier down. But heartless rarely came alone, especially the smaller ones. Several creatures began rising from the fog. All of them, heartless.

"Are those Grimm?" the girl Ruby saved questioned. "How did they get here?"

Ruby roughly pulled the girl onto her feet and pushed her toward the door. "Get out of here! Everyone, get out!"

Dancers began rushing for the exit, but were quickly cut off. Dark energy swirled in front of the door, taking shape into a large, rotund form. Another breed of heartless, a Large Body. Other heartless variants began sprouting up all over the room. More Shadows and Soldiers, a few Darkballs, and a small collection of Red Nocturnes and Blue Rhapsodies. And who knows how many more, bubbling under the surface, waiting for their chance...

Ruby held Crescent Rose at the ready. At the very least there was no confusion in this situation, no considering the consequences. No matter where she was or who was watching, _these_ were the darknesses she was trained to fight. And to protect the innocent hearts that surrounded her, she would fight.

_May my heart be my guiding key._


	22. A Dance in Darkness, pt. 2

Weiss and Yang weren't far away from the dance floor when those black creatures jumped out of the fog. Weiss barely had time to realize what was happening before Ruby dispatched the first one. The heiress stared in shock as more and more monsters rose from Yang's stupid fog and surrounded the students. Her eyes narrowed at the beasts Ruby was quick to fight. "Oh, no you don't..." Weiss scowled and opened her scroll. Out on the dance floor, a smile found Ruby's face. A group of Soldiers stepped up to her first. They stood no chance.

The jittery heartless were fast with their strikes, but Ruby was faster. The first to leap at the wielder bounced right off her guard. As it came back down so did Crescent Rose, slamming the heartless Soldier right into the ground. The next Soldier to attack slung it's claw at Ruby only to strike empty air. Ruby dashed back in from the creature's flank, her weapon a blur. A small crystalline heart escaped the cloud of smoke the monster had become. The remaining Soldiers surrounded her. Ruby struck all of them with a spiraling ground attack, the Vicinity Break. Those that survived were eliminated with a quick "Thundara!"

The Darkballs approached next. The first lunged without hesitation, prompting Ruby to jump out of its range. She jumped straight up and shifted in the air so she would land on top of the heartless, plunging her Keyblade deep into the creature. She stirred the weapon around, dealing more and more damage before finally leaping off, the destroyed Darkball fading into nothing. She struck the next one as she landed in front of it, causing it to spiral away from her.

_CRASH_

Before the melee could continue, one of Beacon's rocket-powered weapon lockers fell straight through the ceiling, as well as the remaining Darkball. The dark smoke dissipated as the locker opened, revealing to Ruby a familiar rapier.

"What?" Ruby did a double-take as her partner strode past her. "Weiss?"

"I spent what is perhaps the two most stressful days of my life organizing this entire dance," Weiss explained as she drew her sword from the weapon locker. "I will be _damned_ if I just sit back and let these monsters ruin the whole night."

Ruby smirked and settled into combat stance, back to back with her partner. "They've been focused on me, so I've been fighting back. But I'm afraid they're going to start attacking others soon. We need to clear the big guy from the door when we have a chance, so people can escape."

Weiss's eyes narrowed at the Large Body. "On it."

"Weiss, wait!" Ruby tried to call after her partner, but she was too late.

Weiss was already speeding toward the Large Body with the aid of her glyphs. She thrust forward with Myrtenaster, right at the figure's round gut. Her rapier bounced right off, doing no apparent damage and forcing her off balance. Weiss stumbled backward, the look of surprise clear on her face. Ruby's shadow announced the young leader's presence above the fencer. The young leader's mighty leap allowed her to jump clear over both Weiss and the Large Body. Crescent Rose was brought down in a heavy cleave as she landed behind the large heartless, carving into it's back.

 _This_ hurt the beast, and it retaliated quickly for a being of its size, swinging it's fist backwards as it turned. Ruby easily ducked under the attack and brought her guard back up as she stood. While reacting to this threat, The Large Body unwittingly exposed its back to Weiss. The Heiress didn't fail to notice. She planted her feet and thrust her blade forward once again. Her rapier found purchase this time, burying itself to the hilt in the creature's back. Weiss cycled to burn Dust and poured the fiery energy down her blade and into the monster. The Large Body exploded. The smoke cleared, leaving only Weiss with her blade still engulfed in flame.

Ruby was quick to throw the doors open now that the path was clear, ushering the unarmed students out of the event hall. Weiss, with her fiery blade, pressed her advantage. She turned her attention onto the small floating creatures that looked like little blue and red bells. Weiss swung, throwing the fire off her blade in a burst toward the multi-colored monsters. The blue ones completely evaporated in the heat of the flame.

The red ones, however, only glowed brighter before sending their own fireballs back at Weiss. The heiress was quick with a shield glyph, silently vowing to be more careful with her elements in the future. From behind her, Ruby shouted, "Blizzaga!" A blast of blue energy soared between the collection of Red Nocturnes, which exploded into a mass of ice freezing them all solid. The ice, in turn, exploded as well, shattering the heartless into nothing and effectively destroying them.

Weiss noticed those strange heart shaped things escaping the monsters Ruby vanquished, something absent from the monsters Weiss herself dispatched. She spared a brief thought to wonder what that meant, but had to cast it aside as she recalled the other monsters still in the room. Monsters with only two targets now.

Most of what was left were the little black imps, hunched over and writhing. Weiss felt her partner's presence rejoin her, and tilted her head Ruby's direction to ask, "is there anything else you might be able to tell me _before_ I use another ineffective attack?"

"Nah, there's nothing special about these Shadows," Ruby assured. "Just don't let them swarm you."

"Duly noted," Weiss nodded, and both girls leapt into the fray.

* * *

Cinder finally reached the CCT tower. She stepped out of the shadows and into the full view of the two guards at the door. The guard in charge stepped forward with his palm held out. "Ma'am, I apologize, but the transit tower is currently closed. Please move along."

"Oh, but I have business here tonight," Cinder goaded, black fire slowly gathering in her hand.

In the darkness of the night, the guard failed to see the growing black energy. He continued calmly, "do you have a technician's badge? Or other proof of entry?"

" _This_ is all the proof of entry I need." The dark force exploded out from Cinder's hand, shattering the glass of the doors and throwing the guards with enough force for them to crack the concrete walls on impact. She stepped over their fallen forms and through the broken doors, a glass blade in one hand and a quickly blackening fireball in the other.

Behind her darkness continued to seep upward from the very ground. The black vapors began forming a solid wall in front of the tower entrance, before picking up in energy and being joined by even more dark winds to create a vortex completely obscuring the base of the CCT tower, blocking all entry _and_ exit.

* * *

_Thud_

Weiss's rapier impaled a Shadow. As it faded away, she did a visual pat down of the event hall. "I think that was the last one," the heiress announced.

Ruby examined the area as well, coming to the same conclusion. She turned to her partner. "Thank you, Weiss."

"Of course," Weiss yanked her sword from the ground and examined it, wondering what maintenance she would have to do before settling for sleep that night. "We probably would have seen them a lot sooner if it weren't for Yang's stupid fog machines. Where did those Grimm even come from?"

Weiss was still examining her weapon and didn't see Ruby's gaze dart away and refuse to face her partner's direction again. "I… don't know," the Keyblade wielder lied.

"I mean, I've been on door duty all night," Weiss continued unfazed, "and I've been keeping a hawk's eye on the hall in general. You'd think I would notice someone smuggling in crate-loads of monsters."

"Ms. Rose?"

Both girls turned in surprise toward Ozpin's voice. Neither of them noticed him re-enter. _Or did he never leave?_ Ruby wondered. Ruby also thought back on every interaction she has had with the man, and frowned. _Either way, whatever he wants to talk about, I doubt either of us want Weiss listening._ She cleared her throat and turned to her partner, "Weiss, would you please go see if anyone was injured?"

Weiss looked from Ruby to Ozpin, and back to Ruby again. _Sigh_. She and Blake had long suspected their leader of keeping secrets, and here her chance to overhear something slips through her fingers simply because she couldn't find an excuse to stick around. "Alright," she nodded and turned for the door.

Ruby made sure Weiss would be well out of earshot before approaching the headmaster. "Did you need something, professor?"

Ozpin stepped onto the balcony with Ruby in tow. "I wanted to ask you," he gestured over the railing, "if you had any idea what _that_ means."

Ruby gasped. The darkness swirling around the CCT tower could be seen from campus. _Too much darkness to be natural._ She recalled seeing a familiar looking figure walking away from the school, moments before the heartless attacked the dance. "Nothing good," Ruby finally answered.

"Does it have anything to do with the creatures that attacked just now?" Ozpin pressed. "You seemed very familiar with them."

"I-i'm a huntress in training!" Ruby quickly dodged. "Of course I'm familiar with Grimm."

Ozpin sighed. "Ms. Rose. I, more than anyone, understand the importance of keeping dangerous secrets. But please try not to insult my intelligence."

The two pairs of eyes bored into each other, each look as serious as it could possibly be.

Ozpin continued, "I think it is long past time to two of us had an honest and open conversation."

"Yeah," Ruby nodded, "I thought you might say something like that soon." She looked back toward the dark vortex in the distance, "but we don't have the time right now."

"I suppose you're right," Ozpin's gaze followed the young wielder's. "It will have to wait. But it cannot wait for much longer."

Ruby nodded and hopped up onto the railing.

"One last thing," Ozpin interrupted. "General Ironwood of Atlas went ahead to investigate the situation. Just so you are aware."

Ruby nodded again. In a flash of light she had mounted her glider and blasted off toward the tower.

* * *

General Ironwood approached the vortex slowly. A tentative hand reached to the dark barrier. Ruby's hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him before his fingers could make contact. "Ms. Rose?" Ironwood questioned her presence.

"You know me?" Ruby questioned right back.

Ironwood frowned and yanked his arm out of her grip. "Do you know something about this barrier?"

"I know you don't want to touch it with your bare hand," Ruby informed him.

She stared into the flowing darkness, hoping to come up with some method of dispelling it. While she stared into the windy void, Ruby witness the opening of a large, bright yellow eye. The Keyblade wielder instinctively leapt backward and summoned her weapon. Ironwood also tensed at the young leader's reaction, his eyes turning to the dark vortex as well.

An orange glow grew just under the surface of the darkness. Ruby's eyes widened. "Move!" she shouted at the general, dodging to one side and trusting an experienced military leader to follow suit. A massive fireball launched from the vortex and struck to position the pair used to stand.

A figure rose from the loose energies of darkness. A snake's head with a single bone plate covering it's entire skull, complete with red markings and two large fangs jutting downward. The vortex around it began to slow and solidify, forming the rest of the heartless, a two headed snake reminiscent of a massive King Taijitu, it's scaled form large enough to completely wrap around the tower. The second head was visually identical to the first, aside from its colored markings being blue.

The blue head focused on Ironwood, opening its mouth and firing a blue beam at the general. He dodged this attack as well, watching as the ground the beam hit formed large spikes of ice. The general pulled out his pistol while Ruby settled into her combat pose.

"This probably goes without saying," Ruby piped up, "but don't use fire attacks on the fire head, and vice versa."

"You've seen this Grimm before?" Ironwood inquired, almost sounding interrogatory.

"No," Ruby answered. Staring down the heartless emblem on the middle of the monster's body, she added, "but I've fought tons like it."

Ironwood decided his questions could wait until after the creature was dead. He loaded Burn ammunition and turned his aim toward the ice head, firing three shots. The ice head retaliated, spitting icicles at the approaching general. He dodged the blasts as he rushed closer to his chosen half of the monster.

The fire head charged another blast in it's open maw, aimed at Ironwood. Ruby noticed, and moved to intercept. She ran toward the steps in front of the tower and jumped on the handrail. Flowmotion energy took over, increasing her speed as she slid up the railing. She launched off the end, arcing over the scaly body, and bouncing off the tower wall toward the creature. With the added strength of the flowmotion energy, Ruby's attack was enough to knock the head aside and throw off its aim.

Ruby fell back to the ground in a slow flip. Upside-down, she was facing the heartless and aimed her Keyblade. "Blizzaga!" The third-teir ice spell missed the serpent's open maw by inches and exploded against it's cheek. Ruby managed to twist and land on her feet with just enough time to dodge the heartless's next attack.

The creature brought its entire head to the earth in an attempt to turn the young wielder to paste. Ruby leapt backward toward a nearby lamppost. She caught herself and spun around it, building her flowmotion energy. Ruby aimed herself at the monster's head and once more launched herself at it, taking a swing once in range. She repeated this attack a few more times using walls, ledges, and a nearby bench as launch points. A quick Scan told her she had done a more than respectable amount of damage already to the single head.

Her opponent decided it had enough and that it was time for another fire breath attack. It gathered heat and flame in it's mouth, but instead of firing one big ball at Ruby it flung its head back and launched multiple smaller fiery spheres in the air to rain upon her position. Rather than dodge and dance her way between the many falling flames, the young Keyblade wielder stood her ground and block the one that would strike her if she didn't move.

Ruby deflected it with a wide swing of Crescent Rose and unintentionally sent the fireball in an arc that would damage the heartless's ice-powered second head. This prompted her to peek, Scan still active, at Ironwood's fight with the other half of the heartless. While the details weren't too exciting to describe, the general had managed to inflict a surprising amount of damage with only a single pistol with Burn rounds. He currently stood on the snake's head several feet in the air, firing shots straight down through it's skull.

The fire head made another sound of gathering fire on it's breath. Ruby turned back to her own opponent in time to see it launching its meteor attack once again. This time the young wielder had a grander plan. "Magnega!" The attraction spell pulled in most of the individual fireballs, merging them together into a single larger sphere in the process. Just before the spell faded, Ruby bolted around and swung her Keyblade as if it were baseball bat, aiming for the ice head.

It hit its mark, dealing significant damage but also throwing Ironwood off of it. The general tumbled across the ground, his gun flying from his hand, before finding his feet and sanding back-to-back with Ruby, who had returned her attention to the fire head. "How is it this strong?" Ironwood asked mostly himself, "we've done so much and it seems to do _nothing_."

The comment served as a brief reminder why Ruby relied on Scan so much. _Heartless don't often wear their damage visually._ "Don't worry, you've done a lot more than you think," she assured the general.

"This is still taking too long," Ironwood insisted.

Ruby frowned in thought. "Well, if you're that impatient, I have an idea that might work. For your head, anyway."

"And what is that?" Ironwood asked, all ears.

Ruby fumbled with the Dust cartridges she hung off her belt for show, holding the Burn vial over her shoulder in offering. "Blow it off?" She didn't have to turn around as she felt the vial get snatched from her hand almost immediately.

Trusting the general with the ice head, the Keyblade wielder ran for the fire head once more, a new plan forming in her mind. " _Blizz-Za-Ga!_ " each syllable accompanied a burst of the spell. The masses of ice that formed on the fire head's jaw were enough to weigh it down, bringing it's chin nearly to the ground.

Ruby jumped, and the beast responded by opening its mouth to catch her inside it. Anticipating this, Ruby brought her weapon down on it's snout and forced its maw back closed. The momentum flipped her. Once she found her feet on the fire head's skull, she jumped right back off. She had used the snake's head to reach the flat stone of the CCT tower's wall, and once there she began running up its sheer face.

Ironwood stared down the ice head, which soon did exactly what the general hoped it would. It dived at him, jaw wide open. With the Dust vial in his ungloved hand, the general _caught_ the monster's upper 'lip' with his gloved one. The monster, working through its surprise at its sudden halt, growled feebly. Ironwood used a burst of his aura to destabilize the Burn Dust, and quickly threw it in the creature's mouth. Once again using his surprising strength, the general forced the snake's mouth shut just before the vial exploded in the back of the ice head's throat.

Ruby had reached the underside of a balcony near the top of the tower. She jumped for it, planting herself upside down and gathering the familiar red aura of her flowmotion once again. Kicking off sent her straight down, aimed for the neck of the fire head which still struggled to raise itself. As she got close, she righted her position in the air and held Crescent Rose above her head. Focusing the flowmotion energy into her blade, she severed the heartless's neck in one almighty swing.

Both heads of the beast had been lost. One through decapitation, the other with an explosion. Ruby exhaled a sigh of relief when the creature began to fade away. She watched the crystalline heart vanish while the rest of the heartless faded into black smoke.

Ironwood looked to the young girl with something close to sympathy. _Perhaps… perhaps Ozpin is right. Perhaps she isn't a threat to us._ "Ms. Rose, I-"

"Well, well, well..." he was interrupted by a voice Ruby recognized from her fight under Vale's roadway. The redhead stared in horror as the speaker emerged from the shadows of the tower's interior, complete with mask and hood once again. "You've certainly gotten stronger, little one."

"It is you," Ruby noted to herself, remembering the figure she saw from the event hall. She settled back into her combat pose.

The woman only laughed. "Oh, please. I've gotten stronger as well. Couldn't you tell?"

Ruby could feel the wave of darkness emanating from the villain, but she did her best not to let her fear show. "General, with all due respect… you should really go now."

All goodwill Ironwood had a moment ago vanished as suspicion entered his mind once more. " _Excuse_ me!?"

"You should do as she says, _general_ ," the woman taunted as she summoned a fireball into her palm. "You have no idea what I'm capable of now."

Ironwood returned his cold gaze to the dark enemy. "You have _half_ of a single Maiden's power."

"An oversight I will correct with the help of my _new_ power," the woman boasted proudly.

Ruby noticed the fireball in her hand become slowly consumed in black and purple energy. "General..."

"So you _also_ have some new, powerful magic that has made no impact on Remnant's _entire history_ before now?" Ironwood scowled, clearly skeptical.

"Oof," the woman winced mockingly. "Does it hurt to keep your mind so tightly closed?" She wasted no time waiting for another rebuttal. Her arm reeled back, and Ruby saw her eyes flash a deep yellow.

The Keyblade wielder didn't have time to think, only to react. She tackled Ironwood out of the area of the upcoming blast, taking the full brunt of the dark attack on herself. Ruby felt herself fly backward, her entire body already in pain before she hit the ground. The attack wasn't meant to kill, though Ruby might have had a hard time believing that if told.

Ironwood saw his gun nearby as he pushed himself up. He took his eyes of the villain for a moment to jump for it. He grasped his firearm and raised it quickly, but it was too late. The woman was gone, vanished into the shadows. As he stood, his attention turned to the only living being nearby. His eyes narrowed at Ruby's prone figure.

Ruby managed to sit herself up. The immediate pain had passed, but she still ached all over. "By the light, that stings… I miss my armor..." She saw Ironwood approach her, and she raised her head to meet his eyes. "General! Are you okay?"

"You have the gall to ask that," Ironwood nearly growled, "after you helped her escape?"

"Help her?" Ruby question. "What part of that looked like helping her?"

Perhaps he was too enraged, or perhaps he believed she was lying. Either way, Ironwood didn't seem to hear her. "I will _not_ sit idly by and simply 'observe' an obvious threat!" He raised his pistol to Ruby's ever-widening eyes.

"Ruby Rose, I am placing you under arrest."


	23. An Overdue Conversation

Ozpin waited outside Beacon for Ruby and Ironwood's return for nearly twenty minutes. On a concerned whim, he sent Glynda to retrieve security recordings from the CCT tower's entrance.

"Ozpin," Glynda announced her return, "You're going to want to see this."

Not five minutes later the headmaster stormed down the halls of the Atlas flagship. His face was calm. His eyes were furious. He held one hand behind his back politely while the other held his cane in a white-knuckled grip. He swept aside the androids guarding the general's door without breaking stride and burst into the man's office. "James, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing!?"

Ironwood sighed and stood from behind his desk. "I am doing what I must for Remnant. Just like any of us do."

"And how do you plan to explain to the council your decision to arrest a fifteen-year-old girl?" Ozpin questioned.

"It would not be the first time we have done things none of the councils ever learned about," Ironwood pointed out.

"We made _those_ decisions as a group," Ozpin reminded him. "I told you I would not defend you if you did this."

"Ms. Rose is dangerous, Ozpin!" the general argued.

"Not to us!" the headmaster countered.

" _Yes, to us_!" Ironwood shouted. "Take into account everything that happened just this night! Ms. Rose attends a dance in her combat gear, as though she were expecting something to happen. The Grimm were hidden under a fog. How were the Grimm snuck in? Why would there even _be_ fog machines in a traditional ballroom dance? Ms. Rose's team made that decision, and they had unprecedented access to the hall for the entire weekend leading to the event. And to top it all off, Ruby knocked me aside so that our Maiden Thief could make her escape!"

Ozpin calmly met and challenged the general's gaze. "Tell me James, how could the large creature that blocked door _possibly_ hide under only a single foot of an artificially placed cloud of water vapor? How could Ms. Rose's team have snuck the creatures into the dance while Glynda kept a close supervision over the entire affair? In fact, Glynda assures me Ruby herself made no decisions regarding the dance. It was left entirely to Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Schnee."

"Then just how _did_ the Grimm get into the dance?" Ironwood challenged. "There's a lot we don't know, but we _do_ know they cannot just appear out of thin air!"

"You're still thinking with the assumption the creatures that attacked the dance were Grimm," Ozpin explained.

Ironwood scoffed. "What else could they possibly be!?"

"They're called the heartless."

Both the headmaster and the general spun, surprise clear on their face at Ruby's appearance in the room.

"And while 'out of thin air' is a bit of a broad description for how they appear, it's not exactly wrong," the young Keyblade wielder continued before they could react.

Ozpin was the first to compose himself, but Ironwood was the first to speak. "Just how did you get out of your cell!?"

"There's not a door on Remnant I can't open," Ruby explained casually.

"But the guards-"

"Were robots," Ruby cut him off, "so I didn't feel bad about fighting them."

"With what?" Ironwood looked a high-tech weapons case beside him. "We locked your sword behind state-of-the-art Dust shielding-"

_FLASH_

"Sounds fancy," Ruby shrugged, resting the freshly summoned Crescent Rose on her shoulder, "but it'll take more than you're capable of to separate my weapon from me."

Ironwood quickly opened the case to see it was, in fact, empty.

"So…" Ruby's turned to Ozpin, "the two of you work together?"

"We do," Ozpin admitted. "Although arresting you was James's action alone. I did not condone it, and in fact came here to argue _for_ you. Which I now see was unnecessary. Although that makes _me_ wonder why you entered this office? Why not just leave after breaking free?"

Ruby explained. "I… was still trying to find a door out, or at least an out-of-the-way window. Then I heard the two of you arguing," Ruby explained. "Thought I'd peek my head in and… assess. Because I still agree that we need to have a conversation. Things are escalating in ways I can't ignore, and I don't know if I can fight it alone."

"Good," Ozpin seemed relieved. "I was afraid that _this,_ " He gestured to the ship around them to indicate Ruby's arrest, "would damage our rapport."

"You're fine, for now," Ruby assured the headmaster. She turned her attention back to the general with a glare, " _you_ are not."

"Ms. Rose," Ozpin gently took control of the room, "perhaps you should return to your team for the night. I'm sure they're terribly worried. We will reconvene in the morning. Before mission selection, and after we've all had time to cool our heads."

Ruby crossed her arms, "so _he's_ still going to be there?"

"I don't expect you to forgive him even if I were to ask," Ozpin empathized, "but he is a valued associate and, present situation aside, a good friend."

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"People are allowed to make mistakes, Ruby," Ozpin defended.

Ruby's sigh was a combination of concession and exhaustion. "I'm not stepping foot on this ship again."

"Of course not. My office, bright and early," Ozpin announced.

"I'll be there," Ruby nodded.

* * *

"Ruby!" Yang immediately threw her arms around her sister the second the young leader stepped into RWBY dorm. "You were gone for so long, where were you, are you okay!?"

"I had an… encounter," Ruby explained carefully. "Ozpin let me go to rest, but he wants to see me in the morning to debrief."

"What kind of encounter?" Weiss wondered.

"I… probably shouldn't say, at least until after the headmaster's report tomorrow," Ruby dodged.

Weiss frowned, but didn't push. "Well, after you had me check the students and vanish, I did a head count and injury check. Everyone was accounted for and the worst injury was the first girl who was attacked sprained her ankle when she first fell over."

"Good. Thank you, Weiss. I assume you passed that report on to the nurse?" Ruby followed her due diligence.

"Of course!" Weiss smiled proudly.

Ruby finally examined her team, noting all of them were dressed in their nightclothes. "I assume the shower is open?"

"Go ahead," Blake nodded.

Ruby slipped into the bathroom. Yang watched her other teammates out of the corner of her eye and, when she saw a moment, snuck into the bathroom after her sister. Thankfully Ruby was still mostly dressed when Yang shuffled beside her.

The blonde asked carefully, "what _are_ you going to tell Ozpin?"

"Nothing more than he needs to know," Ruby answered. "I may have to elaborate on some of my magic. And probably talk about darkness and the heartless. In exchange, he'll tell me some secrets of his own that impact the larger fight brewing. Hopefully, it will be enough that he won't press for more."

"Jeez…" Yang shook her head. "That moment when you realize the existence of magic _isn't_ the biggest, most dangerous secret you know, and that there's stuff _way_ worse."

"Yeah…" Ruby nodded.

Yang blinked as something Ruby brought up processed in her head. "Wait, Ozpin has secrets of his own?"

"I think Remnant has natural magic after all, Dust aside," Ruby elaborated. "Whatever its nature, the headmaster's little secret society seems to know, and they're keeping it all quiet from the public. It's not as powerful as raw darkness, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try to understand it."

"Secret society?" Yang backed away. "You're throwin' a lot of stuff at me I don't think I'm ready for. I'm just gunna hit the hay. Good luck tomorrow."

"Thank you, Yang," the redhead smiled.

* * *

The morning sun painted Ozpin's office a brilliant orange hue. Ozpin sat at his desk flanked on either side by Glynda Goodwitch and James Ironwood. The two of which were currently engaged in yet another argument.

"Letting her go was a mistake," Ironwood iterated for perhaps the hundredth time.

"It sounds to me like you couldn't hold her no matter how hard you tried, regardless of whether it was smart. Which it _wasn't_ ," Glynda returned.

"Peace, both of you!" Ozpin raised his voice. "Glynda, I understand your desire to protect a student, but please try not to incite?" The blonde teacher nodded reluctantly. "James, if you are correct then it is likely she will not arrive here. But if she does, would that finally convince you give her chance?"

Ironwood's face was hard set as he thought over this. " _If_ she shows up, I will entrust things to your discretion. But I seriously doubt she will show."

As if on cue the elevator _dinged_ and opened, and out walked none other than Ruby Rose herself. Ironwood was genuinely surprised at her arrival, enough so to step back and stay silent. The young wielder stopped a few feet from the desk. "Well… I'm here."

"Indeed," Ozpin picked up the torch. "We _are_ waiting for one more, but I suppose we can at least deal with a few pleasantries before he arrives. He's not exactly one for being 'pleasant' anyways."

"Right," Ruby turned to the one face in this situation that was already new to her. "Professor Goodwitch?"

"Glynda is fine," the professor assured, "especially if we are going to be working together on something so heavy."

"The same goes for me," Ozpin spoke up. "When we are alone, especially discussing the topics we're here for today, there is no need for formalities."

"Does that mean you'll start calling me 'Ruby'?" the young girl wondered.

"If you are comfortable with it," Glynda nodded.

"You may be far younger than any of us, but if I'm correct, your skills alone make you our equal," Ozpin explained. "And so, we will treat you as such."

"Good to know," Ruby nodded.

The elevator _dinged_ again, signaling the arrival of Ozpin's missing man. Ruby turned to look. A familiar gruff face and set of scruffy clothes met her eye, and she was even more shocked than when she saw her combat teacher. "Uncle Qrow?"

"Hey kiddo," Qrow answered with a smile.

"I don't… you're a part of all this?" Ruby questioned.

"Yup," Qrow nodded. "Speaking of, I want to apologize. I'm the last person with the right to dig into your secrets, especially if you keep them for good reason. I'm sorry I always pressed so hard. I was just… worried about my niece."

"I'm sorry too. I wanted to tell you," Ruby confessed. "Dad and Yang, too, we all did. But it wasn't really our choice not to say…"

"Your Masters from 'very far away', right?" Qrow deduced.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded.

"Well, at least we're here now, and I finally get to hear the whole story!" He ruffled her hair as he walked back and leaned on Ozpin's desk.

Ruby fixed her hair quickly with a nervous chuckle. "About that…"

"Uh oh," Qrow could tell he overreached immediately. Ironwood narrowed his eyes, but kept silent.

Ruby took a deep breath. While trying to come up with convincing lies the night before, she realized something. She realized that perhaps the best course of action wasn't to lie, but to be upfront about what she _couldn't_ tell them. So that's what she did now.

"I _did_ come her to share some of the things I know," Ruby assured them. "But… there are things I still can't tell you. Stuff that may be related, but not… relevant to what's going on. I don't even know if I'm actually allowed to share what I came here to share. But my back's against a wall and I need the help…"

"Then perhaps we should go to your masters, and ask _them_ our questions?" Ironwood couldn't help but speak up.

Ruby narrowed her eyes at the general. She still didn't forgive him for his blind jumping into false conclusions.

_But if Ozpin still trusts him, I may as well give him a chance. Even if he weren't here for this, someone would tell him what I say._

Ruby sighed and shook her head, "Even if you could, it's not their choice either. Not really. It's more like… a law. A law we were all sworn to live by. A law with _very_ good reasons behind it. _Please_ understand that I'm putting a lot on the line by telling you what I'm willing to say here today. And if you ask me something I absolutely _cannot_ answer, no force in The World is going to make me change my mind. If those restrictions aren't okay with you, then tell me now so I can just leave."

Ozpin leaned forward thoughtfully. "It's difficult. I can't truly say I understand without the very knowledge you're unwilling to share. However, I _can_ respect that you have strong ideals which you hold yourself to. In _that_ regard, I will honor your restrictions. Do the rest of you?"

Qrow shrugged. "As long as we learn enough to deal with this situation, I'm game for whatever."

"It sounds more like an ultimatum if you ask me," Glynda noted. "Nevertheless, I accept."

"James?" Ozpin turned.

Ironwood appeared to visually struggle to get the words out. "I… did say I would entrust things to your discretion, Oz."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the light… so where do we start?"

"I'm the one who invited you to this circle," Ozpin spoke up. "And I'm the one who asked for your secrets. As a show of trust, I shall begin. After, we will ask our questions of you and honor your limits should we reach them."

Ruby nodded.

"Now that all of the pretenses are out of the way, tell me," Ozpin opened, "What do you know of Remnant's fairy tales?"

"Less than I probably should," Ruby admitted.

"Well, many fairy tales have a kernel of truth hidden deep within," Ozpin continued unaffected. "Stories that are handed down, prettied up by oral traditioned and twisted by mistranslation, until a Story becomes nothing more than a beautiful shadow of its former Truth. One such Story lays at the heart of the secrets _we_ keep. The powers _we_ protect. The Story of the Seasons…"

Ozpin began telling the fairy tale itself. Ruby came to understand it as an ultimately simple story. A lonely old man was visited by four colorful young women. Each woman provides a gift commonly associated with the season they respectively represent. After these gifts warm the old man's heart, he reveals himself to be a wizard and grants the women the power to continue spreading their happiness to the world.

"…Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The four Maidens of the Seasons." Ozpin concluded.

"Maiden?" the word was familiar to Ruby. "She said something about that…"

"So, you caught that much, huh?" Qrow smirked. "We don't exactly know how much is true, if some old codger is really responsible for their power. The truth, is that woven into Remnant's history are stories of young women who can control the elements. Not with semblances or Dust, but with raw will. Actual magic. The Maidens. Which I'm sure sounds less impressive to you than when _I_ was told all this."

"I think I get it, though…" Ruby told him. "The Maiden powers aren't just _rare_. There's only four people who hold them at any given time in history."

"That's right," Qrow nodded. "Always four, and always young women. Or older women who got the power when they _were_ young."

"'Got' their power?" Ruby asked.

Goodwitch took over the explanation next. "When a Maiden dies, the power leaves them and merges with the next candidate. Only young women, those who can be considered 'maidens' themselves if you will, can inherit the power. We also know that the last person in one's thoughts is first in line for inheritance."

"That's about _all_ we know," Qrow remarked dryly. "If their last thoughts _don't_ fulfill the highly specific requirements of 'young female person', then for all we can figure the power goes to someone completely random, anywhere across the world. Then our job gets a lot harder…"

"You protect the Maidens?" Ruby guessed.

Ozpin took back control to clarify, "They are more than capable on their own, usually. It's more accurate to say we protect their identities. It's not uncommon for the slain's last thoughts to be of their slayer. Not everyone who managed to get ahold of Maiden powers were heroes. Our predecessors decided long ago to remove them from the public eye."

One word from this description caught Ruby's attention. "Usually?"

"We will get to that," Ozpin assured. "What we have told you amounts to how the Maiden magic works. So tell us… how does _your_ magic work?"

"Right," Ruby thought carefully on how to answer. "My power isn't _too_ unlike a semblance, depending on how you think about it. It comes from within me, and I use a reserve of 'magic power' to cast my spells. My reserve _can_ run dry, but it also recharges itself. Usually within a minute or two."

"Useful information, but not quite what I was looking for," Ozpin confessed.

" _Where_ does it come from?" Glynda elaborated, "and how did _you_ come to wield it?"

"Well… it comes from within," Ruby repeated, not sure how else to put it. "It wasn't some external power that entered me and made me capable. It's natural to me."

Ironwood stepped forward, his interest piqued. "Are you saying _anyone_ can learn your magic?"

"Well, no, not exactly…" Ruby clarified. She rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to recall her ever-more-distant studies. "You have to have the…" _How did Master Aqua put it?_ "'Potential'? Even then, one should really start when they're young."

"So, your teacher saw this 'potential' within you," Ozpin concluded, "and then began your training?"

"Pretty much," Ruby nodded. "I didn't start seriously training until about three years ago."

"I have a question," Qrow piped up next. "What exactly is the deal with your weapon?"

Glynda seemed to agree with the question. "Up until now, I assumed it to be the source of your magic. You use it as a conduit for your casting, after all. You can command it to teleport as well as transform it into a flying vehicle. If not the _source_ , surly it must be tied to your magic somehow?"

Ruby took a deep breath and held her hand out in front of her. In a flash of red light, she was holding Crescent Rose. "The same 'potential' that allows me to use magic also allows me the use of _this_ weapon. I am its chosen wielder, a Crescent Rose is my Keyblade, forged from my own light."

Ozpin stared at the weapon with new admiration. "It's a living force that chose you to be its master? This 'Keyblade'?"

"Could this living force be made to change its mind?" Ironwood asked. "Or, to put it another way… could someone _steal_ your power?"

Ruby shook her head. "My Keyblade is tied to me by powers far stronger than anything I could ever cast. It's… complicated and a little confusing, but it is _both_ a living force that chose me and a product of my own light."

"An offspring of sorts," Ozpin theorized. "The greater 'Light' gave you the potential, but you own light is what gave that potential form."

"Um… yeah," Ruby nodded, surprised. "That's… pretty much it exactly."

"Fascinating…" Ozpin's mental presence seemed to grow distant as his more curious nature took over. "So what happens when you 'store' it…? Does it truly shrink down and stay on your person…? Or is its physical shape dismantled and its essence returned to your 'light'…? Only to be drawn back out at a mental command and re-formed in an instant…?"

A riding crop smacking Ozpin's desk shocked the man back to attention, and he looked up to see Goodwitch glaring at him. "Focus?"

"Right," the headmaster nodded. "Apologies, Glynda."

Ruby smiled. A small return of personality amid an otherwise stiff and clinical discussion did wonders to relieve the tension that had grown in the room. She leaned a little toward Ozpin and told him, "the second one, by the way."

"Truly fascinating," Ozpin smiled. "I can't help but wonder where such a power originated. Are _you_ aware?"

Ruby frowned. _I can't go into the Keyblade's origins without talking about Kingdom Hearts and the existence of other Worlds…_ "This is where I have to refuse answering."

Ozpin pushed a smile through regardless. "Unfortunate. But understood."

"Then let's try a simpler question," Glynda took over. "Is yours the only Keyblade, or are there others?"

"There are others," Ruby nodded. "My spells were part of my training, but they aren't _why_ I was trained."

"You were trained because of your Keyblade?" Ironwood picked up. "By other users?"

"Wielders," Ruby corrected. "There's more I'm willing to say, but not about the Keyblade."

"One last question then, you should be able to answer," Qrow spoke up. "You say a 'Light' chooses Keyblade wielders. But is it possible for one to have this power, and still use it for evil?"

Ruby's gaze fell to the floor. "Unfortunately. And while wielders all have access to the same magic, that magic _isn't_ restricted to wielders."

Ozpin stood and held his hands behind his back. "Ruby, I thank you for what you have shared. One of the main concerns of this brotherhood was if your power could be used against us. I think I speak for all of us when I say you have assuaged our fears. While it is still possible that one _like_ you could threaten us, your power will always be your own. And forgive me for assuming, but it is your taught duty to fight such threats regardless, is it not?"

"It is," Ruby nodded.

Ozpin smiled. "I told you that this accord would be one of give and take, of information shared both ways. While I certainly have more questions, particularly about these 'heartless' you mentioned last night, you've already given us quite a lot. More than we anticipated. I think it's our turn to even the balance. We have something to show you… something that will help explain just what we know of our shared enemy."

"The vault?" Qrow tossed the question Ozpin's way.

The headmaster returned his agent's stare. "Precisely."

* * *

The group piled into the elevator and Ozpin used a key to access a hidden destination for the elevator car. The ominously described 'vault'. When they stepped out, far below the ground level of the academy, Ruby was treated to the sight on dark stone walls reaching high out of range of the lights on the walls. They continued down the long hall up to the far end. Machines, computers, and other gadgetry created a strong contrast to the almost fairy tale visual that the preceding walk provided. And lying within one of the machines was a young woman, with light-brown skin and cropped brown hair.

Before any question could be asked, Ruby felt _something_. She stepped forward and held her hand against the glass separating her from the girl. It didn't take Ruby much longer to realize what she was sensing. A heart's connection, between this girl and someone else. Someone far away. A connection so _painfully_ forced that Ruby could almost _see_ it without even needing a Dive. She tried to trace the connection, but soon felt such overwhelming darkness her hand jumped away from the glass.

"What happened to her…?" Ruby asked, empathy thick on her voice.

"This is our Fall Maiden," Ozpin explained. "Or rather she was, before someone tried to steal her power."

"I shoulda been faster…" Qrow lamented. "My job in this brotherhood is kind of half-groundman, half-liaison. Every few years, I check in with whichever Maidens we know about, and spend most of my time looking for any we don't. I had just finished meeting Amber here and was on my way when I saw something in the distance. Most people would've chalked it up to a freak storm. I knew better."

"It was a Maiden's fight. Amber's," Ruby nodded.

"By the time I reached the battle I was too late," Qrow continued. "Amber was on the ground with some woman standing over her. I pushed the thief away, but she managed to escape having already taken half of Fall's power."

"Half a Maiden's power…" Ruby recalled what Ironwood had said the night before. "The woman I've been fighting. Her fire comes from Fall's power?"

"And now Amber's condition is tenuous at best," Ozpin sighed. "James has provided this technology that allows us to keep her alive. But we don't know _how_ to return her power. And if Amber does pass, it's likely her remaining power will seek out it's missing half."

"Could you heal her?" Glynda asked Ruby. "I know you have a healing spell."

Ruby frowned. "'Cure'. It's meant for battle healing. It doesn't really do much against sickness or… anything more complex than a broken bone. If that. I don't think it will help here."

"Makes sense," Qrow sighed. "Even a broken bone's nothing like having half your Aura torn away from you."

"Aura?" something clicked in Ruby's mind. "A Maiden's power is tied to their Aura?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. Everything is, isn't it? Is yours _not_? The way you described it-"

Ozpin held up a hand to cut Qrow off. "Ruby, what are you thinking?"

Ruby looked past Ozpin once again. "Uncle Qrow, when you pushed back the thief, was she wearing something that looked like an armored glove?"

"Yeah, actually…" Qrow nodded, "How did you know?"

"When I first fought her, under Vale's freeway… she tried to use that device to steal my magic. She implied it was Atlas tech, used somehow in Aura transfer," Ruby explained.

All eyes turned to the general. Qrow spoke up, "Looks like you need to sweep your R&D for leaks and moles."

"So it would seem…" Ironwood looked eager to dole out the necessary punishments.

"Well, I think we all learned a lot today," Qrow smiled. "The only question I have left is, what are you going to do, kiddo?"

"I… kinda figured this partnership would continue," Ruby told them. "At least until 'our shared enemy' is dealt with."

"We have information now," Ironwood pointed out. "You think we can't beat her on our own now that we know what to expect?" The blatant show of continued distrust in the Keyblade wielder wasn't missed by anyone in the room.

"James!" Ozpin scolded.

"With all due respect," Ruby followed up with a tone that sounded like Ironwood wasn't due any respect, "you have no idea what to expect. That's kind of why I tackled you last night, by the way. _Not_ to help her escape, but to _save you_. That single blast could have killed you."

"How strong could she be with a new, unfamiliar power?" Ironwood shook his head.

"Strong enough that I can't beat her on my own! It's kind of why I agreed to this!?" Ruby reminded him. "If you're so scared of what I can do that you would try and arrest me, then you should be _terrified_ of what she's capable of right now. _I'm_ terrified."

"You think I'm scared of _you_?" Ironwood scowled.

"If you weren't, why would you be trying to stop me!?" Ruby pointed out.

" _THIS IS QUITE ENOUGH!_ "

Every muscle in the room stopped moving at the sound of Glynda's shout. The professor composed herself before continuing, "it is clear that Ruby has more to tell us before we truly understand our foe. However," she glared between Ruby and Ironwood, "perhaps it is best for these meetings to be held in smaller doses?"

"Team RWBY does still have to select a first-year mission," Ozpin helpfully agreed. "We are all working together. _All of us,_ " the headmaster glared at the general. "But we are still a _secret_ collective, and I'm afraid you must continue your duties as a student, Ms. Rose."

"Yeah, that's probably smart…" Ruby gave Ironwood one last glare before turning to leave the vault.

* * *

Ironwood immediately returned to his flagship. He entered his office to find Penny already waiting for him. "Good, you're here."

"Good morning, general," Penny greeted formally. "I hear that Ruby is working with you now? Does this mean my task is at an end?"

"No. In fact, your task is more important than ever," Ironwood told her.

Penny held back a flinch. "I don't understand."

"Ruby is still keeping secrets from us," Ironwood explained. "She told us to our faces there are things she 'couldn't' tell us. I don't know how Ozpin can just _accept_ that, but I won't. Even if she isn't a threat, others with her same powers could be. Can you focus on trying to get information of where she trained, or who she trained with?"

Penny was quiet for a moment. "I suppose I could try."

"Good. I don't believe we had an opportunity to review footage from the dance," Ironwood gestured to his desk.

Penny stepped forward and placed her hand on the desk. The computer inside synced with Penny's recordings and began to display all she saw and heard the night before.

At least, it was supposed to.

"Penny, why is there a blank spot in your records?" Ironwood asked.

"I'm sorry?" Penny asked, trying to keep panic from her voice.

"You're speaking with Ms. Rose, but you suddenly leave. Then the timecode jumps ahead nearly twenty minutes," the general pointed out.

 _The timecode! Drat!_ "I had an error I needed to self-repair, and I didn't see Ruby for the rest of the night," she invented quickly. "I thought it would save you time if I… deleted unnecessary footage."

Ironwood groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Penny, I appreciate the thought… but _anything_ could be important. Especially when it comes to Ms. Rose. I would rather sit through hours of staring at walls than risk missing some key detail. How do I access your hard memory?"

"I believe it is locked behind a priority encryption for my own safety," Penny explained.

"Then I'll have to contact Dr. Polendina. Hopefully, he's not too busy…" Ironwood stood and left the office.

Relief washed over Penny, but that relief was short lived. She was never happier that her lie-detecting hiccups were deactivated, but she only had until her father responded to Ironwood before her lie was discovered. She had to come up with another plan to protect her friend.


	24. Mountain Glenn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you have caught on that I'm using characters from other medias in this story. Some of you have even taken guesses as to who exactly they are. One person in particular has decided to turn their guess into an entire fic! A fic of a fic if you will...
> 
> If you want to see Sora2131's take on how Makoto Niijima of Persona 5 became a Keyblade Wielder, check out their story, 'Kingdom Hearts: Tokyo'! ('Inspired by' link included in KH:R.)
> 
> It feels great that my story can inspire someone else's, so if you're enjoying my fic, please consider reading and supporting Sora2131's fic as well!
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy!

After leaving the vault, Ruby searched for her team. She found them holding a small meeting between themselves near the mission selection terminals. "What are you three talking about?"

Yang noted Ruby's arrival. "Were thinking we should take a mission out toward the southeast."

"Why the southeast?" Ruby asked.

"The White Fang rally?" Blake reminded her. "Torchwick said they were moving to 'the southeast'."

"Oh. Right," Ruby nodded. _With Ozpin, his Maiden Thief, and all my concerns lately with the heatless and darkness… I completely forgot about all that._ "But is our chaperone just going to let us investigate?"

"That's why I was thinking something simple, like a Search and Destroy," Weiss told her. "A bunch of angry faunus are probably going to attract Grimm anyway, and search and destroy jobs are simple enough that we could easily find time to slip away."

"Noble huntresses doing our duty by day, and vigilante detectives by night!" Yang seemed a little _too_ excited. "I'm looking forward to this!"

The group moved to the console and quickly found a Search and Destroy mission close to the mountains southeast of Vale. Ruby typed their team name to accept the mission.

_Mission restricted from first-year students_

"Drat!" Weiss huffed.

"What do we do now?" Blake asked. "I don't see another mission anywhere _near_ there."

"What are you lot fretting about now?"

Yang turned excitedly as the sound of the new arrival. "Uncle Qrow! When did you get here!?"

"Just flew in this morning," Qrow smiled. "Thought I'd stop by and see my nieces." Yang leapt into a hug with her uncle. "So," he continued, "what's holding the lot of you up here?"

Weiss and Blake shared a look. They weren't sure what they could or couldn't say in this situation since their investigation isn't exactly sanctioned.

They didn't know what Ruby knew. "The mission we wanted is restricted from first year teams."

"Ruby!" Weiss's eyes went wide.

"Then just pick another mission?" Qrow shrugged. "There are plenty."

"We… _really_ wanted this mission," Ruby repeated, hoping Qrow would understand her.

Qrow studied Ruby's gaze. "Oh! My scroll is vibrating, I should probably take this call." Qrow walked past the team. Ruby noticed him dialing Ozpin.

"Ruby, what are you doing?" Blake asked.

"Trust me," Ruby pleaded.

Blake and Weiss fell silent. They knew their leader was keeping secrets. They also knew she had only ever tried to protect them. They knew that they trusted her _despite_ her secrets. "Alright."

"So," Qrow announced his return, "hunting the White Fang, huh?"

"What!?" Blake looked shocked.

"Oh, please," Qrow smirked. "The docks, that rally. You girls fought a giant robot with the White Fang's symbol on its shoulder. It didn't take a phone call to figure _that_ much out."

"Then what _was_ the phone call about?" Weiss asked.

Qrow looked the terminal still displaying the southeast mission. "Give it a try."

Ruby stepped forward and typed in her team name again.

_Mission accepted_

"How did you pull _that_ …?" Yang asked.

"Let's just say I'm tight with the headmaster," Qrow winked. "And if you lot are going to look into this anyways, it's safer to keep things above board if we can. Try bending the rules before you break them."

"That still doesn't explain _why_ ," Blake pointed out.

"The White Fang. Torchwick, Neopolitan. You girls have been getting results," Qrow explained. "Let's just say Oz and I are betting on team RWBY."

Yang smiled. "Thank you!"

Qrow's chuckled, "don't thank me yet. It's not going to be easy. I hope you're all prepared to fight like your lives depend on it. We leave immediately."

"We?" Ruby caught.

"That's right. You aren't just getting' any old teacher-chaperone. You're getting a bona-fide field huntsman," Qrow pointed to himself with his thumb. "Pack light and load up. Airship leaves in fifteen. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang hurried away excitedly. Ruby made to follow. "Wait up," Qrow held her back. "The White Fang work for Torchwick and Neopolitan. Who work for our Maiden Thief. It all ties together. That's why we're doing this, right?"

"That's right," Ruby nodded.

"What if we run into her?" Qrow asked. "I could lead the girls away, but you said you weren't sure you could fight her alone. Is there any way I could help?"

"I'm not sure," Ruby frowned. "Uncle Qrow, do you trust me?"

"I do," Qrow nodded.

"Then if I tell you to run… Do it. Without question," Ruby told him.

"You got it, kiddo," Qrow nodded.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Yang's excitement kept even as the airship left Beacon airspace. "We're _actually_ on a mission to track down the White Fang! We don't even have to lie about it!"

"You might want to save your energy," Qrow smirked. "This could take a while, y'know."

"Days?" Weiss asked cautiously.

"Weeks," Qrow corrected. "Maybe even more. 'The southeast' isn't exactly a narrow search zone."

"Well, we must be able to figure _something_ out," Weiss frowned. "The reason we picked Search and Destroy was because we figured the White Fang's negativity might be drawing Grimm."

"That does help," Qrow nodded. "We also should consider what a group that size needs day-to-day. Shelter, easy access for supplies _or_ the room to store supplies long term."

"A large concentration of Grimm near an area large enough to house an army long-term," Blake thought through. "We're going to Mountain Glenn, aren't we?"

"Mountain Glenn?" Weiss asked.

"A failed expansion of Vale built around a local mountain of the same name," Yang explained. "They couldn't hold back the Grimm and… it was left behind. An entire city's worth of abandoned buildings and empty streets."

"I don't remember this coming up in class?" Weiss questioned.

Yang smirked. "Benefit of growing up in the area, Ice Queen."

* * *

It wasn't long before Mountain Glenn could be seen from the windows. A suburb of collapsing buildings and cracked streets. The airship slowed down to do a low pass near one of the outer-most roads. The group opened the door and jumped out of the still-moving ship. Weiss, Blake, and Yang landed weapons drawn and combat ready. Ruby and Qrow simply landed and began a visual survey of the nearby area.

After the airship left the air grew exceedingly still. The quiet was pervasive. Yang's excitement that had carried her all the way from Beacon's airyard finally began to die down. "So… what now…?" the blonde asked.

"We begin looking," Qrow told them as though it were obvious.

Even Weiss seemed surprised at the reality of what lie ahead. "What, we just… comb a few dozen square miles city?"

"Sounds like we better get started," Qrow smirked.

"There _has_ to be a better way," Yang shook her head.

"There is," Qrow nodded. "Can any of 'ya tell me what?"

The four girls fell quiet as they thought. It was Blake who spoke up, "we follow the Grimm."

"Precisely," Qrow smiled. "We find a small pack, Creepers or Beowolves. We make sure they don't see us, and we see if they're attracted to our terrorist friends."

"Um, speaking of Beowolves…" Yang pointed past Qrow. The gruff huntsmen turned around and noticed an entire pack advancing on them.

"See, the problem with these ones… is that they already know we're here," Qrow sighed.

"So… we fight them?" Weiss double checked.

"We fight them," Qrow nodded, drawing his own weapon.

* * *

After a long day of attempting to tail Grimm only to end up destroying most of them, the sun finally began setting on a tired RWBY. They had found a collapsed building that provided no roof, but _did_ provide walls and one solitary entry into the space. Qrow noted Weiss, Blake, and Yang's exhaustion. "Alright, you three," he gestured to them, "set up the camp. The pipsqueak and I are going to check the perimeter." The trio nodded and Ruby followed Qrow onto the street.

When they had made some distance from the team, Ruby turned to her uncle. "Do you think we made any progress today?"

"We managed to follow that third pack for a good while before they spotted us," Qrow told her. "Did it take us in the right direction? That's another question."

Ruby held her fist up to her heart. "I think we're closer."

"Anyways, I wanted to ask…" Qrow looked past the curious action, "you never did get the chance to elaborate on what you know our Maiden Thief is capable of. If we do encounter her… I don't like going in blind."

"Right…" Ruby sighed. "The easy answer is… while I get my power from my light, she draws her strength from darkness."

"'Darkness'?" Qrow questioned. "Just 'darkness'? As a magic power?"

"It's incredibly powerful, and incredibly dangerous," Ruby explained, "not the least to the user. Letting it in changes you, amplifies all the worst parts of yourself. And if you're not careful, it can consume you… You become lost to the darkness, and those who do usually become something even _more_ dangerous. Bestial."

"Damn…" Qrow seemed lost for a more elaborate comment. "And _she_ can control it?"

"That's just it…" Ruby shook her head. "She thinks she does, and she's doing a decent job _commanding_ what she has… but I don't think she _understands_ what she has. She's on the path to losing herself."

"Can _anyone_ control darkness?" Qrow followed up.

"There's been a few," Ruby admitted. "Master Riku is a unique case where he's managed to make his darkness serve his light. But he's the only person I've ever known to manage that, and he went through a _lot_ to gain that resistance. Mostly, those who can 'control' their darkness are still slaves to their darker instincts. They don't risk 'losing themselves to darkness', but in a way they're still lost."

"No matter how good you are at it, it's still a corrupting influence," Qrow pieced together.

They had finished their lap around the building and were nearing camp, prompting the both of them to end the conversation. The fire had indeed been started, and five sleeping bags set out.

"I'll take first watch," Qrow offered, "you four get some rest."

"You won't hear me argue," Yang yawned. The girls did a combination of drawing straws and rock-paper-scissors to decide watch order and settled down to catch some sleep.

* * *

The sun had long since set when Weiss woke Ruby up for the third watch. She found a comfortable spot higher up the wall that was far enough away from the fire that there was no light pollution clouding her vision. With pure starlight and her elevated position, she would be able to see threats long before they could even _become_ threats. Case in point, a lone Beowolf stalked into view a block and a half west.

 _As long as it doesn't move our direction, I can let it be,_ Ruby planned. There was a noise that almost sounded like a loud cough in the distance. The beast suddenly seemed to jump backward and fell on its side. Ruby watched, curious, and noticed as it began to fade away.

 _Did someone shoot it!?_ Ruby made quick deductions regarding the direction the Beowolf fell and the sound of the 'cough' before leaping down to collect binoculars from their group supplies. Scopes in hand, she hopped back up to a cropping with a clear view of the north and began scanning with the binoculars. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she spotted white tunics. They were walking away from the camp's position, and Ruby could plainly see the White Fang logo on their backs.

She quickly jumped back down again, landing next to where Qrow slept. She slowly gripped his left shoulder, their agreed upon signal that it was one of them waking the other up. Qrow suppressed a yawn as his eyes finally opened, his foggy brain adjusting to consciousness. "Ruby?" He knew it wasn't time to wake up if Ruby was waking him. "Did you spot something?"

Ruby nodded. "Two tunics, patrolling toward the north. About three miles away according to the distance tracker."

"Let's wake the others," Qrow ordered.

Camp was packed up as quickly and as quietly as possible. Team RWBY plus Qrow were walking the streets again in less than five minutes. Thankfully, the White Fang Ruby spotted hadn't disappeared in that time and the group was able to follow them back to a heavily guarded structure. They snuck into a nearby dark alley to observe.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the building. "That almost looks like an underground transit station."

"A what?" Ruby asked bluntly.

"A subway, Rubes," Yang clarified.

"What's a subway doing out here?" The young wielder questioned.

"This was an expansion, not a whole new kingdom," Qrow explained. "Filled with Valen citizens who had to get to their jobs in the main kingdom somehow."

"So, is that their goal?" Weiss wondered. "To sneak into the kingdom using forgotten railways?"

"That'd be impossible," Yang argued. "They sealed off those tunnels."

"They have to be doing _something_ all the way out here," Blake was adamant. "It's far too out of the way for any of their standard operations."

"Alright," Qrow thought to himself for a moment, "think we could find a way inside without raising any alarms?"

"I'll go with Blake," Ruby called out. "Two people can be quieter than five, plus she's good at being sneaky, _plus_ plus she knows White Fang stuff."

"Sure, good for Blake, but why _you_?" Qrow questioned.

"I can fly?" Ruby reminded them. "If stuff hits the fan, I can use my Glider to escape and get the rest of you."

"You can what?" Qrow had yet to see that part of Ruby's power.

"I've been on it," Weiss confirmed.

"Alright," Qrow nodded, "fair point."

Blake and Ruby filed out of the alley, with the young leader following the faunus ninja's lead through the patrol. They managed to reach a door without anyone guarding it. Blake tested the door. "Locked… I knew this was too good to be true."

"I got this," Ruby summoned her Keyblade and tapped the door.

_Click_

Blake watched the door swing open and turned a raised eyebrow to Ruby.

"Spatial Manipulation," Ruby tried to shrug off.

"Right." Blake didn't exactly buy it, but this wasn't the time to argue.

The pair continued through the door and down a flight of stairs. They came upon the main platform which was filled with crates of Dust and White Fang agents. This was no doubt the heart of the operation. Ruby was the one to spot the train. "Are they loading the crates onto that train?"

"This doesn't make any sense…" Blake frowned.

The pair silently decided to get closer, keeping low and pressing themselves against one of the larger crates. They had gotten close enough to eavesdrop on the man in charge.

"Hey, what are you trying to do, blow us to the moon!? Be careful with that stuff!"

"But, sir, I thought you said we were behind schedule…"

"It's called a happy medium. You can be fast… _and careful_!"

Blake's bow twitched. "Is that…?"

"Torchwick," Ruby confirmed, recognizing his voice even after so many months.

"Are these all explosives?" Blake wondered.

"Or the Dust they've stolen," Ruby shrugged.

"I still don't see what the plan could possibly be…" Blake frowned.

Ruby decided to try and get a closer look. She placed her hand on the corner of the crate to steady herself and leaned forward to peek out…

_CRACK!_

Suddenly, the piece Ruby was using to support herself snapped off the crate and tumbled onto the railway. The Keyblade wielder herself jumped back behind the crate, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Who's there?" Torchwick's voice was calm and furious. The girls stayed quiet. "That crate your hiding against is _filled_ with Dust by the way. Did you know that? I'd rather not shoot it, but if you test my patience… well, it's not exactly the most peaceful demise."

Ruby turned to Blake and spoke so quietly she might as well be mouthing, _go get the others_.

Blake reluctantly nodded.

"Running out of patience in three! Two!"

Ruby took a deep breath and stepped into Torchwick's view. A moment of silence followed her reveal.

"Hey," Ruby finally spoke. "Long time, no see, Torchwick."


	25. A Heart of Darkness

"Long time, no see, Torchwick."

Ruby nearly flinched at her own words. The silence after she stepped out from behind the crate stretched on until even the young wielder felt uncomfortable. She felt like _someone_ needed to break the quiet, and suddenly she was saying something that she could only ever picture Chloe or Yang saying unironically.

It did work, however, as Torchwick was broken from his surprised stare. "You!?" he aimed the barrel of his repaired cane at her, "what on Remnant are _you_ doing here!?"

_I need to buy time, but how!? Uggh… In for penny, I suppose. Might as well channel my inner Chloe some more._

"Well, I heard you busted out," Ruby found herself speaking without putting _too_ much thought into the words. "And I just _had_ to see for myself." She took a few steps onto the rails, trying to take attention away from the crate so Blake could escape. A shadow quickly snuck away in her periphery.

"Let's just say prison wasn't quite my scene," Torchwick spat. "Where are your little friends?"

"Friends?" Ruby tried to think quickly. "I-I didn't come with anyone."

"Right…" Torchwick didn't buy it. "And what, you thought you could take us all on alone?"

_Damn it! More Chloe, more Chloe!_

"To be fair, there are…" Ruby took a casual glance around the room, pretending to count people. "Two more people here than I expected?"

"A valiant effort, Red," Torchwick smiled, "but don't try and con a conman. Hand over your weapon."

Ruby took another stalling glance around the room. "Would you believe me if I said I don't have it?"

"Not for a second," Torchwick deadpanned, holding out his hand.

"Well, can't blame me for trying," Ruby shrugged.

"Your weapon, Red," Torchwick shook his open hand in emphasis.

"Right," Ruby nodded. "But seriously, I didn't bring it."

Torchwick's face grew red with anger. " _You have three seconds_! Three! Two! On-"

The sounds of battle erupted from the platform proper. Ruby's backup had arrived. _And not a moment too soon…_

"Crap!" Torchwick shouted. He gestured to Ruby, " _Kill her_!"

" _Reflaga_!"

Bullets and Dust charges bounced off Ruby's magic shield. She wasted no time retaliating, summoning her Keyblade and dashing forward into the fray.

Torchwick didn't plan to stay and fight. He ran alongside the train, meeting up with a small group of White Fang agents on the way.

"What are we going to do, sir?" one asked.

Torchwick frowned. _It's still far too early, but… if we've been found it's now or never…_ "We're starting this train."

"Sir?" the White Fang seemed unsure.

" _Move it_!" the frustrated criminal screamed.

The sounds of the train starting were nearly drowned by the melee, but Ruby managed to hear. "On the train!" she shouted. The group dashed forward, dodging White Fang agents, and managed to land on the back-most car before the train became too fast to keep up with.

Weiss turned to Yang, shouting so she could be heard over the passing air, "I thought you said the railway was sealed!"

"It is!" Yang insisted. "Have you ever seen a subway station in Vale?"

Before the argument could continue, the car they were standing atop shook and began to slow down. Ruby saw the rest of the train pulling away from them. "Move up!"

The group hopped to the next car and looked back, watching the detached carriage fall behind. "I guess they want us off this train," Yang noted.

Qrow shook his head. "Do they even know we're up here?"

The carriage that had been detached exploded, blasting a hole into the tunnel wall.

"I guess they _really_ want us off this train," Yang reiterated.

A thought occurred to Blake. She opened a roof hatch on their current car, and saw an active bomb surrounded by crates of Dust. "This one is rigged as well!"

Qrow ran ahead to the next car, opening it to check. "Here, too!"

"But what does it mean?" Weiss asked, "what _is_ their plan?"

The car they were now standing on detached as well. The group joined Qrow on the car further up and watched the carriage behind them fall back and explode.

Blake noticed Grimm crawling out of the fresh hole in the wall. "Qrow? Where in Vale was the station?"

"Close to the center," Qrow told them. "That event stage downtown used to be the stairway down."

Weiss saw where Blake was going. "This isn't a transport. It's a battering ram."

"They flood the tunnel with Grimm, then blow a hole leading into Vale," Yang picked up.

Ruby felt something she didn't feel often… anger. People being influenced by darkness was one thing. But _this_? Attacking a kingdom, killing citizens… this was just people doing bad things. Whether because they thought it was right, or simply because they _could_. All her training never prepared her for the depths of a heart's natural darknesses. "We're stopping this train," she announced with a hard edge to her voice.

"Ruby," Yang reached out, concerned.

The young wielder turned, and her eyes softened. She took a deep breath. "I'm okay, Yang."

"We should split up," Qrow suggested. "Half over the top, half through the cars. We reach the front and stop the train."

"I'm going with my sister," Yang immediately called. Her fingers fiddled with her munny-charm bracelet.

"And I'm staying with my partner," Weiss joined.

"I guess we're up top?" Blake asked Qrow.

"Good luck," Qrow offered the other three and took off ahead with Blake.

* * *

Ruby, Weiss and Yang dropped into the train car, weapons at the ready. They heard the _clack_ of the train car behind them detaching, and Weiss noticed Ruby turn to watch it pull away and explode. The heiress turned back ahead, Yang joining her as they took a few steps forward. When the pair were only halfway across the carriage, something strange happened.

Weiss understood that wasn't saying a lot, considering all the weirdness that surrounded their secretive young leader. But a highly skilled if somewhat dodgy young girl wasn't all that much compared to someone _literally appearing out of thin air_. A physical shadow appeared like a hole in reality itself, fading away to leave behind a thin individual in a heavy black coat with a low hood that concealed all their features.

Weiss and Yang jumped into their fighting poses. "What now?" Weiss thought aloud, "let me guess, you work with Torchwick as well?"

The figure's head cocked as if they had no idea what Weiss was talking about.

Weiss's brow arched. "Of course you do," she reasoned, "why else would you _be_ here?"

The figure continued to say nothing, only raised a finger to point between the heiress and the blonde.

The pair following the point's direction back to Ruby behind them, where Weiss saw something in the young leader she never thought she would. Something that shocked the heiress to the core to witness. Ruby was scared. Not just a little healthy fear, either. No, Ruby was eyes wide, pupils small, weapon shaking in her hands _terrified_.

Weiss's head snapped back to the cloaked figure. She intuitively stepped in front of her partner to stand between them and Ruby. She didn't know what Ruby saw that made the young leader literally quake in her boots, but just seeing Ruby's fear was enough for Weiss to take this situation very seriously. "And… what do you want with her?"

"She's too bright…" the figure finally spoke in a voice just as androgynous as the rest of them.

"Bright?" Yang questioned. Pieces were coming together in the blonde's mind, and she didn't like the direction her theory was leading.

"It's hurts, and I don't know how to deal with that…" the figure carried on. Their left arm crossed over their chest to grip their right bicep. "I thought that woman could take care of things for me, but she's taking too long… and now I have no choice…" Their right hand raised, palm facing Ruby. "I have to follow my darkness."

 _Darkness_.

That was enough for Yang. She didn't know what she could do, but she wasn't going to let this _thing_ hurt Ruby. "Yeah, well good luck getting anywhere near _my sister_!" The blonde rushed forward, cocking Ember Celica and throwing a heavy punch at the figure.

One moment Yang was sure to connect. The next she somehow missed and was thrown violently against the carriage wall to fall into an unconscious heap. Weiss didn't even see the figure move to deflect her.

"Yang!" Ruby was finally un-frozen by the sight of her sister tossed aside like a wet paper towel.

A vortex erupted inside the carriage. The winds seemed to emanate from the cloaked figure's hand. Weiss raised her arm to cover her face as her ponytail whipped around but was otherwise unaffected. Ruby tried her best to stand her ground, but her feet started to slide backward toward the open backdoor of the train car. The wielder could only stay stable for a short few seconds before she found herself lifted off the ground and thrown out of the train.

"Ruby!" Weiss called out for her partner. She dashed to the back door and could only see a black dot retreating into the distance. The heiress spun around to face their attacker, but they were already gone. The fading black circle was the only evidence of where they could have possibly gone.

Weiss didn't know what to do. Yang started to stir, prompting Weiss to make sure the blonde had no lasting damage. "Are you okay?" Weiss asked while she helped Yang sit up.

Yang's eyes snapped open. "Where's Ruby?"

"That person blew her off the train," Weiss answered. "Then they vanished."

Yang stood and dashed to the door. Weiss could tell she was readying herself to jump. "Yang, wait!"

"I have to help her!" Yang shouted back.

"That person tossed you aside like you were a _thought_ ," Weiss reminded her. "What can you do?"

"I don't know…" Yang admitted. Her fingers found her munny-charm.

"What we _can_ do, is stop this train," Weiss told her. "Once we have, _all_ of us can go save her. Trust me, I hate the thought of leaving her behind… but we are no match for that _thing_. And Ruby's not the only one in danger. The entire city of Vale is at risk."

Yang stood in the doorway, taking in Weiss's words. The heiress saw the blonde bring her hand up to her chest, in the same way Ruby did so often. Yang took a deep breath. "Then stop the train," she told Weiss. "Do what your heart tells you is right. _My_ heart is telling me my sister needs me, so I'm going."

"Damn it, Yang!" Weiss cursed. The heiress brought her hand to her face, regaining control of herself. She looked back up to the blonde still standing in the doorway. _Do what my heart tells me is right, huh?_ Weiss experimentally held her own hand to her chest. Strangely enough, she _did_ find some resolve in that action.

"Yang," Weiss called out. The blonde turned to face her. "Good luck."

Yang's tension visibly relaxed at Weiss's acceptance of her plan. "You, too." Then she jumped.

* * *

Ruby could feel it the instant that dark being exited the Dark Corridor. Darkness like the young wielder never dreamed possible. Her own light pushed back feebly against the overwhelming tide of raw power coming from the coated figure. She had raised her weapon instinctively though she had no idea how she was supposed to follow up. She wasn't just unsure whether she could win this fight. She _knew_ if it came to combat, she would lose.

When the dark wind blew her from the carriage, Ruby was somewhat surprised she wasn't already dead. She hit the rails hard, rolling along the tracks for a few feet before falling still. She managed to push herself to one knee in time to see a Dark Corridor appear in front of her, depositing the cloaked figure. "Who… are you…?" Ruby managed to ask.

"Darkness…" the figure seemed to answer. "And I have to follow my darkness."

"'Follow your darkness'?" Ruby questioned. _Why word it like that?_

The figure hunched forward. Dark aura began rising out of their back and shoulders. They burst forward, rushing toward the wielder with black energy coating their hand. Ruby panicked, jumping to her feet and swinging Crescent Rose desperately.

The wielder had no idea if she connected, but she _did_ feel her enemy's attack tear through her like massive claws. The figure spun back around, placing both hands on Ruby's back and blasting the wielder across the tunnel. Ruby screamed as she felt the darkness punch right through her defenses.

Ruby barely managed to roll onto her feet as she landed. The young wielder gritted her teeth and tried to rein back her fear. _I can't just let myself roll over and die_ , she told herself. _Even if I lose… I'm going to go down fighting!_ Ruby roared again as a battle cry, raising her Keyblade and rushing her foe.

The figure moved like a fabric puppet with loose strings. Intentionally unbalancing themselves, spinning like a top, and alternating between dark blasts and dark claws. Ruby thought she even spotted a dark blade of some variety for a brief moment before being launched across the railway once again. It made them impossible to predict. Ruby took more hits that she dodged and was fairly certain that her own attacks weren't missing but were doing next to nothing regardless.

Each time she fell, it was harder and harder to stand again. As Ruby struggled onto her feet once again, she called out, "Why are you doing this!?"

The figure stopped, contemplating answering. "Because I have to follow my darkness."

"You keep saying that…" Ruby noted. "Why do you have to follow your darkness? Why not follow your heart?"

The figure tilted their head in confusion.

"Darkness can be hard to refuse…" Ruby continued, desperate for some resolution that she could survive, "but your heart doesn't agree, does it? Listen to your heart."

"I am… following my darkness…" the figure replied as though it struggled to get the words out.

"Not your darkness, your _heart_ ," Ruby asserted. "Just-"

"Shut up!" The figure suddenly screamed, their hands darting to their head. "You're saying one thing, then saying another! You're contradicting yourself, and I don't know how to deal with that!"

Ruby took a careful step forward, raising an unarmed hand out slowly. _I just need to break through… maybe I can show them…_ "Just take a moment… and listen." Ruby placed her palm against their chest to suss out their heart.

What Ruby saw there was not what she expected to find.

"I see now…" the figure told her. "You didn't know, did you?" They placed their hand over Ruby's on their chest. The wielder felt herself be taken into her opponents Dive. But it was all wrong, corrupted. The images on the stained glass couldn't be made out under pools of darkness. And surrounding the tower was something monstrous, digging its claws into the Dive like a parasite. Massive yellow eyes opened somewhere in the darkness behind the cloaked figure.

"My heart _is_ darkness."


	26. Desperation

"My heart _is_ darkness."

Ruby ripped her hand away, returning to reality with nearly headache-inducing speed. She backed up along the railway, still in shock at what she saw. There wasn't a single ray of light where this being's heart should be… only pure, pervasive darkness. " _What are you_ … _?_ "

The figure's only response was to attack again, sending Ruby down once more. The wielder wasn't sure she could make it to her feet this time. She pushed herself onto her back, casting a fearful eye at her slowly advancing opponent. _I really am going to die here… I can't fight this…_

Ruby knew in her head that she might die. But a true understanding of what that meant evaded her until now. Memories started to play behind Ruby's eyes. Her family. Her friends both on Remnant and beyond. All her battles and days off. Laughing, singing, fighting, eating ice cream. Things she would no longer experience. People she would never see again…

"Ruby!"

The cry of her name brought Ruby back. She tilted her head back enough to see, upside down, her sister running her way. "Yang?"

"Ruby!" Yang had reached her, throwing herself to her knees next to the fallen wielder. "Holy crap, Rubes…"

"Yang," Ruby's voice strained as she tried to scold her sister, "you shouldn't be here."

"Screw that," Yang shook her head. "They haven't beaten you yet, have they?"

"They have…" Ruby confessed. "Get out of here, Yang."

Yang looked deep into silver eyes. "Y'know, this isn't like you, sis."

The comment confused Ruby. "What?"

Yang continued unimpeded, "how are you supposed to be an almighty space-cop if you can't stay on your feet? You can't win if you don't try, right?" Yang stood up, casting her gaze toward the cloaked figure. They had stopped their advance when Yang showed up, appearing uncomfortable at bearing witness to the moment between the sisters. The blonde stood between them and Ruby. "If you want her, you'll have to get through me."

"Yang!" Ruby called out, "they'll kill you!"

"Then I'll die," Yang replied casually. "But if I die protecting our friends, it'll be worth it."

Ruby's eyes widened.

Yang raised her fists and ran at the figure. The figure lazily raised their hand, charging dark energy. The two met, Yang swinging with all her might, and the figure releasing a dark blast that immediately obscured their vision. The smoke cleared to reveal not a lifeless blonde collapsing to the ground but a magic barrier that stopped both parties' attacks. Yang could see the tip of Crescent Rose ahead of her, casting the barrier. Ruby tackled her sister and carried her through the air away from the cloaked figure.

The sisters hit the ground across the tunnel. Yang jumped up to her knees to look over her sister. Ruby pushed herself up to her knees slowly, coming level with Yang's eyes. Ruby's hand came up to Yang's shoulder. "I was so scared, I almost forgot…" the wielder told her, "I almost forgot that my job is to protect people. That's where I draw my strength." She pulled her sister into a deep hug, "thank you for reminding me."

Yang smiled, tears threatening to fall as she returned the hug. "Go kick their butt."

Ruby chuckled. "We're probably still dying here, y'know…"

"If anyone can figure this out it's you," Yang proclaimed with all the confidence in the world.

Ruby flashed one last smile to her sister before her face turned serious. She stood, somewhat shakily, and pointed her Keyblade toward the dark figure. _What can I do?_

The figure across the tunnel started gathering their dark energy in their fist.

Ruby raised her free hand to her chest. "May my heart be guiding key… please, guide me."

There was no plan of action, no belief she would survive. She was on her last leg, barely standing, but knowing she had to try. She had to fight. A deeper power awoke from the depths her heart, answering her call.

Her muscles began to tense on their own, tugged by her inner light. Ruby let herself succumb to her light's guiding influence. Fire magic traveled up Crescent Rose's length, accompanied by this other power. The words of the spell left Ruby's mouth without her awareness of just what the words truly meant.

" _Lux Firaga!"_

A golden fireball sprung from her Keyblade and struck the enemy in the face. They screamed like nothing Ruby had heard yet and their hands shot to their head. Scan told the Keyblade wielder she didn't deal massive damage, but she had made a noticeable amount. And it seemed the mere nature of her spell affected the figure beyond simple damage. They continued to scream, even writhing on the ground as black smoke escaped from between their fingers.

Ruby stared at her Keyblade. _A golden fire spell? What the heck_ was _that?_ She heard her enemy stop writhing and looked back to them. At some point in their thrashing their hood had fallen off, and Ruby could finally make out their face. An unsurprisingly thin face with drooping eyes framed by messy, uneven light-pink hair. Their eyes were darkness yellow, of course, but what Ruby noted was that they were filled with fear.

Ruby wasn't sure she could cast that spell twice. _But they don't need to know that_. She pointed Crescent Rose at them, putting on the toughest face she could manage. The dark enemy yelped and covered their face again, promptly disappearing into a Dark Corridor. Ruby let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"You did it," Yang celebrated, "you beat them!"

"Not really…" Ruby corrected. "At least… it doesn't feel like a victory."

"Hey, you're here and they're not," Yang rationalized. "So what if you got lucky at the last second, pulled something out of your butt, and scared them off more than you actually damaged them?"

Yang's simple view of things set her sister off. Ruby's stress exploded into a giggle fit that nearly had her falling back onto the rails, Yang catching her. "So, I actually did that, right?" Ruby managed between bouts of giggling. "We survived? This isn't some near-death dream thing?"

"We made it, Rubes," Yang assured her sister while holding her up. "You saved us."

"Hah… hah…" Ruby smiled, though her eyes betrayed how painfully tired she was. "Please tell me this day is over…" the young wielder hoped, leaning on her sister while the two walked down the tracks.

* * *

Shortly after Yang jumped, Weiss realized she was about the assault the train interior completely alone. She pulled out her scroll and thumbed for Blake's contact and called.

"Something wrong?" Blake answered.

"Ruby got knocked off the train," Weiss told her, "and Yang followed to back her up."

"So you're _alone_ inside the train right now!?" Blake voice grew frustrated. "Hold a second… Qrow!"

Weiss waited on the line while Blake had a conversation with their chaperone.

"Alright," Qrow's voice came on, "start making your way through the train _carefully_. It's pretty calm up here, so we'll drop inside and work backwards to you, then head for the engine together."

"Yes, sir," Weiss confirmed and hung up. She opened the door to face three average White Fang grunts, who pulled up their pistols quickly to aim at her. Weiss rolled her eyes and launched herself forward, her rapier flickering in the dim light. In moments, the three of them had been dispatched and Weiss was moving on to the next car.

She breezed through several cars before opening a carriage door to reveal Qrow's grizzled face. "Any problems?" the expericed huntsmen asked.

"None," Weiss confirmed. "I don't think they were ready for unexpected trouble."

"I'm surprised the girl from the docks isn't here," Blake mentioned.

"Let's just be happy she isn't," Weiss insisted. "She gave _Ruby_ trouble, remember? Qrow might take her, but us two?"

"Speaking of Ruby, what happened?" Qrow asked.

Weiss took a moment to process what she had seen. "Someone appeared… I mean _appeared_ , like out of thin air, and summoned some kind of wind to blow her out the back door. Then they vanished just the same. Yang decided Ruby might need help and jumped out after her."

"What did they look like?" Qrow continued to ask.

Weiss was confused by the line of questioning. _Does he know something?_ "I couldn't tell. They had this heavy black coat with a low hood."

"Were they female?" Qrow pressed further.

"I… honestly couldn't tell," Weiss admitted. "If they were, they're flatter than _I_ am, but nothing about them struck me as 'masculine' either."

Qrow's brow furrowed. The Maiden Thief in the recordings was pretty clearly female and made no effort to hide their 'assets'. This clearly wasn't her. _But who else could they be? There's not_ another _layer to all this, is there?_

"Do we have time for this?" Blake interrupted. "How much longer before we run out of rail?"

"Blake's right," Weiss pointed out.

Qrow sighed and refocused. "Let's get to the engine room."

* * *

Said engine room was only a few more cars ahead. Qrow led them through the door where the finally found Torchwick standing in front of the controls.

"Fancy seeing you here," Torchwick smirked as though he expected them. "Where has Red gotten to?"

Qrow raised his blade to the exuberant criminal. "Stop the train, Roman."

Torchwick chuckled, twirling his cane. "There's no stopping this wild ride."

"You think you can take on all three of us?" Weiss goaded, raising her own weapon.

Torchwick held out his arms. "Come and get me."

Blake didn't hesitate to rush Torchwick, striking him several times. It wasn't until he fell to the ground and that she, Weiss, and Qrow realized something. The ninja faunus stopped mid-swing as she stared at the crook's exposed back on the floor. "You're not fighting back?"

Qrow's eyes widened. He ran past to look over the train's controls. The train's _broken_ controls. "It's been sabatoged!"

"There must be some way to stop this thing!?" Blake desperately theorized.

"I told you…" Torchwick teased while lifting himself onto a nearby seat.

"Why!?" Weiss demanded.

"Why else? Someone paid me," Torchwick pointed out the obvious.

"And what are _their_ goals?" Blake pressed.

Torchwick laughed again. "She's not stupid enough to tell me what I don't need to know."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "Are you _not_ smart enough to take an educated guess?"

Torckwick frowned at the insult to his intelligence. "As far as I can tell, this is all to simply spread fear. Show the people that kingdoms can't protect them forever."

"The woman you're working for," Qrow asked next, "what is her _name_?"

Torchwick smirked again, shaking his head. "Now, now… _that_ would be telling."

Torchwick's eyes darted to the window and back to the group. Silently, he buckled a seatbelt that attached him to his chair. The group turned to look out the front of the train, already knowing what they would see. They were close enough to almost make out the words of caution on the barrier between the railway and the greater Vale. There was no time left.

Thinking quickly, Weiss stabbed Myrtenaster into the floor and used her ice Dust to encase the three of them in a protective barrier of blue crystal. Barely enough time for a breath passed before the defense was tested. The train tore through the barrier, bounced off the rails, and tore through the roof of the abandoned station. It breached a storefront built above it, depositing its occupants, along with all the rubble and debris it created, onto the event square.

* * *

"I'm guessing they didn't stop the train…" Yang noted at the sound of the crash.

Ruby pushed off her sister and started jogging down the rails. Her injuries from the fight caught up with her quickly. She cried out and fell to one knee with one hand catching the ground.

"You are in _no_ condition to go running off like that!" Yang scolded, rushing back to her sister's side.

Ruby knew Yang right. But she refused to let her team fight this threat off without her. Her hand on the ground slowly found its way to the train rail. "Maybe so… but I don't have to run."

Before Yang could stop her, Ruby jumped onto the rail. The wielder grinded down the rail at speed, propelled by nothing but the magic of Flowmotion. "Well, at least use your Glider so I can come with!" Yang called out after her sister fruitlessly. Ruby was already too far away to hear her.

After about a minute of grinding, Ruby was coming up on the end of the line. She leapt off just before the rail ended. Her momentum carried her up and through the hole the train had made, and she landed on the rubble between the ruined storefront and the event square. What she saw could only be described as war.

Qrow, Weiss, and Blake were joined by a few other teachers and even another student team. Beyond them, Atlas's military androids were also assisting. But there was only so much that could be done against the sheer tide of opposition. If it were only the Grimm the situation might be controllable, but the darkness and chaos had also summoned heartless. The square was clear of civilians that hopefully had all escaped, and the fighters left were surrounded on the event stage and struggling to fight back.

Ruby had to do something. She had power, perhaps she could turn the tide… but she only so much energy left. With her injuries weakening her, she wasn't even sure how much magic power she could push. _But I have to try_. She summoned Crescent Rose and jumped into the middle of the fray.

"Ruby!" Weiss's voice was a mixture of relief and concern. "Are you okay!?"

Ruby didn't answer, instead focusing on her task. _My magic has been getting more powerful… maybe I_ can _do this. One massive spell to turn the tide._ She held her Keyblade in both hands in front of her. She pushed lightning magic down the blade, pooling more and more until the static could be felt outside her weapon. She thrust her Keylade straight up in the air.

" _THUNDAZA!_ "

Multiple bolts as thick as Ruby's arm crashed into the earth. The lightning pushed itself away from the group, tearing through Grimm and heartless and leaving large black scoring on the concrete. Other flashes turned multiple foes at a time to dust. One last massive bolt struck the tip of Ruby's Keyblade, exploding into a massive flash that blinded everyone. All of this within a second of the wielder's cast.

Once Weiss could see, she couldn't help but gasp. Every single enemy had been destroyed. The ground was burnt and charred by the strength of the lightning, and some static still hung in the air ruining everyone's hair. And even stranger was that everyone else was unaffected by the blast, like the attack had known they weren't to be harmed.

Ruby smiled. The young wielder had pushed herself _hard_ , well beyond her normal limits. But it was finally all over. She was content that her friends were safe even as the exhaustion caught up with her and she collapsed into unconsciousness.

* * *

" _My heart_ is _darkness._ "


	27. Truth

There was no way for Ruby to claim simple exhaustion this time. Not when her team, multiple teachers, and half of Vale saw her carried back to Beacon in broad daylight. She was almost taken to a Vale hospital, but Ozpin managed to get her placed in Beacon's infirmary instead. He had a feeling her injuries would raise questions neither he nor Ruby wanted answered.

While the word of Beacon's headmaster was enough to stem the worries of the average medical staffer, Ruby's team was less easy to talk down. "What do you _mean_ no hospital!? The infirmary is _not_ equipped for those kinds of injuries!"

"I assure you, Ms. Schnee, we have things perfectly in hand here," Ozpin insisted.

"Can we at least see her?" Blake asked.

"She's still out cold," Qrow informed them, having just left the young leader's side himself.

"C'mon, guys," Yang tried pulling the heiress away. "I'm sure they'll tell us when Ruby's up."

Weiss looked to Yang incredulously and yanked her arm out of the blonde's hand. "No! I've had enough! Something is going on, our team leader is in the middle of it, and it feels like _we_ ," she pointed at Blake, "are the only two here who know _nothing_!"

A very angry nurse suddenly burst through the infirmary door. She pointed a furious finger at the group. "I don't know who is shouting, but there are patients in here who need a calm environment to recover. Please move along, all of you. Yes, including you, headmaster. You may run the school, but I run this medical wing, and I am sure you have more important things to do than hang around here." With her rant over, the nurse calmly shut the door.

Ozpin shrugged in a _what can I do? You heard the lady_ sort of way and left. Weiss frowned but couldn't argue to stay after being kicked out by the head nurse and left in the opposite direction with her team. However, that didn't mean she was done. Once they were back in their dorm, Weiss rounded right back onto Yang, staring the blonde down with her arms crossed.

Yang very quickly grew nervous under the heiress's glare. "…What?"

"I think it's time Blake and I got some answers," Weiss told her.

"Answers about what?" Yang tried to play off. "What is there to know?"

"Why don't we start with just what in the _world_ Ruby did today?" Blake pointed out.

"She probably just used a lot of Dust," Yang shrugged.

Weiss scoffed. "Yang, please. I'm a Schnee. I know more about Dust than anyone in our year, and probably most of the second-years as well. What Ruby did in Vale today? Dust just isn't capable. The amount she would need is _astronomical._ "

The comment made Yang curious. "What exactly did she do?"

"Right. You didn't see," Blake recalled. Yang hadn't crawled out of the tunnel until after Ruby had collapsed, thankfully moments before Goodwitch used her semblance to seal the train's breach.

Weiss fetched her scroll and pulled up a video someone hiding in a nearby storefront had taken of the fight. The quality wasn't the best, but it was clear enough for Yang to make out what had happened. The blonde's eyes widened, "holy _shit_ , Rubes…"

"So," Weiss grabbed Yang's attention back, "are you going to keep trying to tell me _that_ was Dust? It's impossible."

"I mean, come on…" Yang struggled, "w-what else could it be?"

"'Once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains – no matter how improbable – must be the truth'," Blake recited in such a way it must have been a quote from some famous novel.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Weiss picked up. "The way she fights, how she moves her weapon, _transforms_ it. There are some impressive semblances out there, but her so-called 'spatial manipulation' has been a hard pill to swallow from the very start. And then there are her elemental attacks…"

"I've never seen her refill or change out Dust in her weapon," Blake pointed out. "And the way she screams out the attack's name every time… it almost sounds like an incantation."

Yang floundered nervously, "I-I don't know what to tell you…"

"We just want an honest answer," Weiss insisted.

"We're a team. I'd hazard to say we're all _friends_ ," Blake crossed her arms. "We shouldn't be keeping secrets from each other. And I know I wasn't exactly forthcoming in the past myself, but you all know everything now. I told you because I trust you. Please, trust us."

Yang felt cornered. There was no way she was getting out of this without giving something up. She sighed deeply, a silent apology to her sister. "It's… not a matter of trust," she told the pair.

Blake and Weiss shared a look of surprise and optimism. They were finally on the cusp of _real_ answers. But… "What does that mean, 'not a matter of trust'?" Weiss questioned.

"It's complicated, and these secrets… they aren't mine to tell," Yang confessed. "I don't have the authority. I can't promise that you'll get your answers, but I can tell you that your best bet is to ask Ruby. I can't say anything she's not willing to."

"Then that's just what we'll do," Blake nodded. "Ask Ruby."

Weiss agreed. "Once she's discharged, the four of us are going to have one _hell_ of a team meeting."

* * *

Qrow sitting next to Ruby's bed reading when the young leader began to stir. "You're finally awake," he smiled.

Ruby sat up slowly and looked around, getting her bearings. "How long has it been?" She asked, speaking slowly.

"A few hours. You can only push yourself so far before your body gets its rest one way or another," Qrow explained. "How do you feel?"

"Still tired, still in pain," Ruby grunted. She was still sporting her injuries from her fight with the cloaked figure. "I'm guessing the nurses had no idea how to treat me?"

"They haven't actually seen your injuries up close," Qrow told her. "Oz figured it might be easier that way. Do you really have healing magic?"

"Wanna see?" Ruby smirked. She summoned her Keyblade and held the tip in the air above her. " _Curaga_."

Qrow had witnessed Ruby's spell in the square, but he had seen destructive magic such as that before. Watching his niece's injuries vanish under the green glow of ethereal flower bells, however, was enough to make his jaw drop. In mere seconds, it was as though Ruby was never hurt at all. As if to prove it, the young wielder jumped out her gurney, twirling her weapon a moment before dispelling it.

"Wow…" Qrow finally managed to find a word to speak.

"Sorry," Ruby offered sheepishly. "I rarely get to show off like that."

"Don't worry about it, I'd show off too," Qrow assured. He stood and motioned for her to follow him, "let's get you discharged."

Ruby's face turned serious as she followed her uncle. "I'm guessing Ozpin wants to talk about the mission."

"I've already given him the broad debrief," Qrow told her. "But he does have one question for you."

"Is the general going to be there?" Ruby grimaced.

"Nah," Qrow shook his head. "He's busy entertaining his new guest."

"New guest?" Ruby asked.

"Torchwick," Qrow explained. "He escaped from Vale PD last time. James managed to spin that into a reason to hold Torchwick himself. He's trying to get answers out of him as we speak."

* * *

True to Qrow's word, Ironwood was not in attendance this time. Ruby figured he wouldn't be happy when he found out. Ruby also figured that she didn't care.

"You look remarkably well," Glynda noted with surprise. "How do you feel?"

"Just fine, thanks," Ruby smiled.

"You don't need additional rest?" Ozpin asked.

"Nope," Ruby confirmed.

"In that case, and please forgive my impatience, your report has been delayed long enough," Ozpin stated.

Ruby dropped the smile and nodded. "You wanted to ask me something specific, right?"

Glynda stepped forward. "The nurses didn't have long to look at your injuries from the night you fought the Maiden Thief, but what they _do_ report seems consistent with your injuries from tonight. Yet, Qrow cannot confirm her presence during the mission. Can you?"

"It wasn't her," Ruby told them.

Ozpin frowned at the news. "Then there is someone else with this 'darkness' magic you spoke with Qrow about?"

"Yeah," Ruby's eyes dropped as her mind turned to the person she fought. "And they're _way_ more powerful than the Maiden Thief. I barely survived, and I didn't _scratch_ them. If it weren't for some new spell I used on instinct at the last second somehow scaring them away… I wouldn't be standing here now."

Glynda seemed nervous to ask her next question. "So… what do we do about this?"

"I honestly don't know…" Ruby confessed.

The room was quiet for a few moments. Ozpin thought deeply before standing. "If nothing can be done just yet regarding this new threat, then I suggest we focus on what we _do_ know. The Maiden Thief is still at large, and we are still unsure how the train incident plays into her plans. We should continue to focus on that front, do our duty. And let Ruby do hers."

The young wielder looked up at the headmaster. "What do you mean by that?"

"This new threat is beyond us, but it is what _you_ are trained to fight, correct?" Ozpin posited. "You have been strengthening yourself in the Emerald Forest in preparation for facing our Maiden Thief. I suggest you continue to do so… regardless of class schedule and festival duties."

"You mean… ignore school to train?" Ruby asked for clarification. "Don't I still need to be student, even if it's just to cover my working with you?"

"You will need to carefully pick and choose which classes to skip and when, to avoid detentions or anything worse. I will say you have no need to attend my own classes," Glynda offered. "Your combat skills are leagues ahead of your classmates' anyways."

"And my grades?" Ruby asked next.

"It is not as though you intend to graduate, as you have reminded me on multiple occasions," Ozpin pointed out. "As much as I detest placing so heavy a burden on one so young… you are the only hope we have against this new power."

"Yeah…" Ruby lamented. For the first time in weeks her thoughts turned to her ever-silent Gummiphone, currently in her desk drawer in RWBY dorm. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"On that depressing note…" Qrow cut in, "I think we're done here. You may have gotten a good few hours of sleep, but _some_ of us are well into a very long day."

"Qrow is right," Glynda nodded. "Unless Ruby has something more to tell us, I believe this meeting is adjourned."

"That's it," Ruby confirmed.

"Very well," Ozpin nodded. "I do appreciate your continued assistance, Ruby. If there is ever anything you need, any way we can help you, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you." Ruby turned to leave.

"Wait up," Qrow caught her at the elevator. He hit the button for the lobby and the doors closed, leaving just the two of them. "So, fair warning, I think your partner knows we're hiding things."

"Weiss? What happened?" Ruby asked.

"You happened," Qrow answered. "You did what you had to do. You couldn't afford to hold back, I get that. But that also means your team has seen you do some pretty amazing things. Weiss was _very_ vocal about it when we dropped you off at the infirmary."

"Great… I just got Ozpin off my back, too…" Ruby sighed.

"What are you going to tell her?" Qrow asked.

"At this point?" Ruby frowned, "The truth might just be easier… Maybe Weiss won't get angry at me for skipping classes if she knows why."

Qrow arched his brow, "I thought the whole point was that you're not allowed to say?"

"And yet, I told you," Ruby pointed out. "Trust me, I'm in the middle of a _very_ unusual situation."

"That, I won't argue with," Qrow smirked. "Good luck, kiddo."

* * *

Weiss, Blake and Yang all got alerts on their scrolls. Ruby had texted all of them a single word, ' _Roof'_. The three girls made their way up, finding their leader already seated on the building's edge. They all took an ice cream pop from the shopping bag next to her and took their now-usual seats along the ledge.

Ruby opened the conversation with a question of her own, "next time we do this, can it _not_ be because we're about to have a super serious conversation?"

"We'll work on it," Weiss promised. "Until then… Yang told us if we wanted answers, we had to ask you directly."

"I'm so sorry, Rubes," Yang immediately defended. "They had me cornered and I didn't know what to say."

"It's fine, Yang. It's not your fault," Ruby assured with a smile. "It was bound to happen the longer I stayed. We kinda spend a _lot_ of time with these two."

"So, to start, just to get _the word_ out there…" Blake nervously fiddled with her ice cream, "The things you can do. It's _magic_ , isn't it?"

"That's right," Ruby confirmed.

Weiss nearly dropped her ice cream. Expecting the answer made it no less surprising to hear. "By the brothers… Magic actually exists?"

"It's rare… but yes," Ruby nodded.

"Why hide it?" Blake asked.

"Because the knowledge that magic exists alone can be dangerous," Ruby explained. "Few people are capable, but those that are, aren't guaranteed to be _good_ people. In fact, I _need_ you two to promise me that you won't tell anyone else. I've already told too many people…"

"Who else knows?" Weiss questioned.

Ruby sighed. "Ozpin, Goodwitch, Ironwood… and Qrow."

Yang did a double take. " _Uncle_ Qrow!?"

"He works with Ozpin," Ruby told them.

"On what?" Blake pressed.

"First, I need you two to promise," Ruby cut her off.

Blake and Weiss looked to each other. Blake shrugged, "I mean, there are people _I_ wouldn't trust with magic. And the more people that know, the greater chance of information slipping purely by accident. I can see where Ruby is coming from."

Weiss nodded. She only really cared about solving this mystery for herself anyways. The heiress turned back to her partner, "we promise, Ruby."

"Thank you…" Ruby sighed in relief.

"So then, what is it that Ozpin and Qrow do?" Yang asked, it being one of the few things she didn't know.

Ruby carefully explained everything she was comfortable sharing. She didn't elaborate on the Maiden's history or capabilities, simply stating that it was Ozpin's secrets and not her own. She _did_ tell them about her own magic, the powers of her Keyblade, and the nature of the power of darkness she fought. In the end it was nothing more or less than what she told Ozpin and his group.

"In summary," Weiss attempted to compartmentalize, "you are now working with the headmaster's secret organization to take down the ringleader, who is using both the magic Ozpin is protecting and the 'darkness' you are familiar with?"

"That's about it," Ruby nodded.

Blake's eyes had widened early in the explanation and had yet to return to normal. "I still have so many questions."

"I'll answer what I can," Ruby promised, "but like I told Ozpin, there are still things I _can't_ tell you."

Weiss was the first with an additional question, "could you teach us your magic?"

Ruby frowned. "Even if you have the potential to learn, I'm not sure I'm capable of teaching."

Blake finally found her own question. "If you're able to tell us about all of this, what are you still restricted from telling us?"

Ruby winced at that one. "Obviously I can't answer that… I mean, technically I shouldn't have told you guys _anything_ … but I'm kind of lost in this situation…" The young wielder collapsed backwards, laying down on the roof. "If only it wasn't just me… if only _someone_ else were here… I'd even take Master Ventus at this point."

Weiss blinked. "Kairi, Terra, and now Ventus too? How many Keyblade Masters _are_ there?"

Blake had put together an entirely different idea from Ruby's slip. "Your master's not 'out on a mission', are they?"

Ruby sat up slowly, turning to her faunus teammate. "What… makes you think that?"

"The more masters you talk about, the less likely it seems _one_ of them couldn't have taken you," Blake explained. "And every time you mention them, you sound… sad. Lonely. You sound like I did for a long time after leaving the Fang. Not to mention that first time I saw you, before Beacon. You were panicking."

Ruby's face fell. No point in lying about that anymore. "My school was attacked. The Masters survived, I'm sure of it. But I have no idea where they are, and no way to search for them. I was hoping they would be back for me in just a few weeks… Now it's been months and I'm scared they're lost someplace incredibly dangerous." _The Dark Realm..._

The team fell silent, allowing Ruby to process her emotions. Emotions she had no doubt been struggling with for weeks while trying to keep them secret.

After five minutes of silence, Weiss felt it was appropriate to pick the conversation back up. "I have one last question."

"Just one?" Ruby asked.

"Well, no, but my last question for tonight," Weiss clarified.

"Alright," Ruby nodded, "go ahead."

"How does the person from the train factor into things?" Weiss wondered.

"I honestly don't know," Ruby admitted. "I don't think they're working with the ringleader… I don't know where they came from, I don't know how long they've been watching. All I know is that they're powerful."

"More so than the ringleader?" Weiss's eyes widened.

"Incredibly so," Ruby nodded.

"So what do we do next?" Blake asked.

Ruby stood, looking out over the city while building a mental checklist. "I'm going to up my training, maybe even skip some classes to get extra sessions in the Emerald Forest. I assume you still want to investigate the White Fang, so if we end up facing the ringleader again try to leave her to me. And if we see the black coated figure… run. You three are _not_ to attempt to fight them, understand?"

"I suppose we couldn't do much anyways if they nearly killed _you_ ," Weiss conceded painfully. She stood and turned to her leader, "however, I would like to join you again for morning trainings. Unless that bit about me holding you back still rings true even if you're _not_ hiding your magic from us…"

Ruby smiled. "I'll be glad for the company, and while I can't teach you magic… I may still be able to show you a thing or two."

"Me, too." Blake announced, standing to join her teammate and leader. "Things are getting serious. It's time for us to get serious too. I don't want to rely on you, Ruby, especially if you _do_ leave someday. I want to get stronger too."

Yang sighed, "Well, I'm certainly not hanging out in an empty dorm every morning. I might as well come too," she stood in solidarity with her team.

Ruby's mile widened. "All right, you two. I hope you're ready. We better get some sleep now, because we're all waking up at dawn."


	28. The Masters Pt. 2

Wayward Wind tore through the last heartless in the current fight, destroying it effectively. Ventus stood straight and tilted his head back, trying to catch his breath. He ended up staring into the featureless, dark sky. "How long have we been here? I can't tell anymore…"

"It feels like it's been weeks," Lea agreed.

"Weeks here could be months or even years in the Realm of Light," Terra reminded them.

The thought did not cheer up Kairi. "Months where our students have no word of us, no Land of Departure to return to…" She held her fist up to her chest, feeling Ruby's light through their connection.

Riku noticed the action. "Can you still feel them?"

Kairi's face displayed her confusion. "I've never really had a connection with the others, but I can feel Ruby. Can you not feel your connections?"

Aqua seemed surprised as well. "The veil between the realms can be difficult for light to pierce. I've always known your connection to Ruby was strong, but if you can still feel her here it must be exceptional."

"You think so?" Kairi questioned. She had to admit she didn't know as much about the Realm of Darkness as a Master probably should. "It's faint, but I _can_ feel Ruby. I think she may have even used me as a link since we've been here."

"So you can feel her, and she can feel you," Ventus compiled thoughtfully. "Maybe we can use this."

Lea scratched the back of his neck, "Whaddya mean?"

"Use the connection to pull yourself toward Ruby," Ventus explained, "like Sora did with all of us."

Riku's eyes widened. "You're talking about when he changed time. But that wasn't without consequences."

"Right, but Kairi wouldn't be breaking the laws of nature," Ventus argued. "She wouldn't be changing history, just using Ruby's heart to reach the world where Ruby is at in the present. That's perfectly in line with the rules."

Aqua brought her hand to her chin, taking a moment to consider things. "It… could work. Then we'd have one of us in the Realm of Light, working on this threat from the other side. It wouldn't change the situation for the rest of us, but it would be better than nothing."

Riku turned to Kairi. "You're the one who would be taking on the risk. It's up to you."

* * *

Tucked away in the corner of a massive castle was a small study. Between stacks of books and large paintings of his ancestors, a small king tried to run his kingdom. King Mickey Mouse had spent years traveling the worlds, keeping the peace and fighting the darkness as a Keyblade Master. Unfortunately, those were years spent _not_ ruling over his land, and while his Queen proved a competent leader, there were some things only the monarch himself could manage.

He had long since caught up on his royal backlog, but there would always be more hearings to hear, more fires to put out. With the worlds in a time of relative peace, he found himself more and more acting on his responsibilities as a ruler over his responsibilities as a Keyblade Master. There would be months where he had no contact at all with his old friends at the Land of Departure. Though he did like to keep in touch, which is why he was calling now during a break in his paperwork.

Except no one was picking up.

The Gummiphone rang and rang, but ultimately no one he tried to contact had answered his calls. He vaguely recalled having to turn down an invitation to a Mark of Mastery exam somewhat recently, and briefly wondered why no one gave him an update on that after. The situation was stirring an uncomfortable feeling in his gut. The kind of feeling that, as both a regent and as a peacekeeping warrior, he had long ago learned to listen to.

He found himself in the garden mere moments later, where he met with his Queen, Minnie.

"Oh!" Minnie called out with a smile, taking her husband's hands into her own. "It's so nice to see you out from behind that desk."

"Heya, Minnie," Mickey smiled back.

The pair enjoyed a rare tender moment between themselves. Though Minnie was more perceptive than some gave her credit for. Despite Mickey's best attempts to hide his feelings, his Queen could always read him like an open book. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Mickey frowned as his eyes turned slightly away. "I haven't heard from the Land of Departure in a while. I tried callin' 'em, but no one picked up. It's probably nothin'…"

Minnie smile widened. She didn't like it when he left, but she loved his kind and heroic heart. She cupped his cheek to turn his gaze back onto her. "Go do what you have to. Just don't disappear again."

Mickey's hand came up to Minnie's on his cheek. "I'll keep in touch. I promise." The pair touched their noses together, sharing one last intimate moment. They parted slowly, until Mickey had no choice but to turn away if only to keep from tripping.

He stepped up to a large hedge castle that took up the exact center of the garden. The doors on the front of the decoration opened to reveal a secret tunnel that Mickey took down to the Gummiship hanger. As he reached the hanger, he was greeting by the castle's resident inventors and technicians, the mechanically inclined chipmunk brothers Chip and Dale.

"Your majesty!" Chip greeted, running toward him with his brother.

"What brings ya' down here?" Dale asked as they arrived in front of the King.

"Takin' off," Mickey answered. "The Land of Departure has gone silent. There might be trouble."

"Trouble?" Dale questioned in a worried tone.

"Like the old days!?" Chip followed up, sounding perhaps a little _too_ excited.

"Let's hope not," Mickey did his best to temper both their moods. "Just get me flyin' and stay on the line. I'll fill you in as I go."

"Got it, your majesty!" The brothers saluted and dashed to their stations to prepare for launch.

* * *

The black cloaked figure curled up alone in an empty chamber. It was to them a cell, and a place they associated with darkness. Their fight replayed in their mind, over and over again. Seeing that golden fireball approach, _feel_ it searing their face with more than just heat and flame. _Lux Firaga_. A fireball infused with pure light itself. And that _hurt_. It hurt, and they didn't know how to deal with that.

So they ran. They ran back to this place, a place they once feared. But that darkness was comfortable now that darkness itself was within them. And it was here and now that, not for the first time, they doubted themselves. As if on cue, their darkness began rising from their shoulders to whisper in their ears.

They were drawn into their dive. Bright yellow eyes opened in the void around the corrupted tower. They could hear groaning and growling, the sounds of the instinct of darkness to destroy light.

"I know… but I can't deal with it…"

More dark whispers followed.

"Isn't there someone else? Maybe that woman…"

A harsh growl brought their hands to their ears.

"I know! They're not strong enough… but maybe I can go after the other survivors first? They may have weaker lights…"

Low groaning.

"Yeah, I don't know where they are either…"

Whispers filled the void while the cloaked figure fell sideways, still curled in themselves. Torn as they ever were between the urges of the darkness and their own fear.

* * *

The Gummiship hung still in empty space. Empty space that happened to be the exact coordinates for where the Land of Departure _should_ be. Mickey stared over the ship's controls, out the window, and toward the stars. There were very few things that could make a world vanish. In fact, there was only one thing Mickey could think of, and it did not bode well. He tried calling the contacts in his Gummiphone one last time, once again receiving nothing.

Suddenly _he_ was getting called. He looked down excitedly at the ringing Gummiphone and was only slightly disappointed to see Chip and Dale's contact. He answered, "whatcha got for me?"

"After we got your message about the Land of Departure, we started searching the Gummiphone Network for any signs of distress," Chip explained, "and we got a hit!"

Dale took over the explanation, "an unfamiliar device has been sending out signals at regular intervals for the past several months."

"Unfamiliar?" Mickey questioned.

"It must be one of the ones the Masters handed out," Chip answered. "Either to the families of the students, or the students themselves."

"Well, what can we do with that?" Mickey asked.

"We can either trace the signal back to its origin," Dale began.

"Or we can extract the caller data and use it to call them directly," Chip finished.

Mickey thought over things for a moment. What he needed above all was information. They could still trace the signal if calling them didn't work. But if calling them _does_ work, Mickey imagined it would be the faster route. "Can you send me the data?"


	29. Arriving Allies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I super apologize for the huge delay. I ran into some timeline issues... I know what I want to happen, but placing events in an order that makes sense is giving me some trouble. Hopefully things don't appear forced or rushed in the future.

Ruby stood in Ozpin's elevator, wondering what was waiting for her at the top. She was starting to get used to being summoned to the headmaster's office. She only wondered just _what_ this meeting was about. She had no more information for them, nothing she was willing to share anyway. The elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal the usual suspects. Ozpin, Qrow, and Ironwood were seated around Ozpin's desk, with Glynda standing behind them.

Ruby stepped out of the elevator to approach the group. "What am I up here for today?"

Ozpin didn't miss the tone of her question. "Ruby, our goals may be more _compatible_ then they are _synchronous_ , but we are equal partners in this… alliance. This meeting is not about you specifically, it is simply a meeting, and therefore we called for you."

"But I haven't been to one of your meetings since the train incident," Ruby pointed out, "right?"

"We haven't _had_ a meeting since then," Glynda corrected.

"Oh," Ruby nodded. "Seems…"

"Unnecessary." Ironwood finished.

"Inefficient?" Ozpin offered.

"A pain in the neck…" Qrow complained.

Ruby was silent for a moment. "Definitely one of those."

"We are a _secret_ organization, after all," Ozpin explained, "it can be difficult for all of us to have a free moment at the same time."

"So is this just something we do?" Ruby asked, "call up a meeting and see if anyone has anything to share?"

"We need to at least _attempt_ to plan for the future," Ozpin replied.

"We've been reactionary for far too long," Qrow elaborated. "If we keep waiting for our enemies to make a move, they're eventually going to hit us harder than we can handle. We need to get ahead somehow."

Ruby nodded. "I should tell you all I let my team in on a few things," she confessed.

"What!?" Ironwood shot to his feet. "What gives _you_ the right!?"

"Excuse me?" Ruby was immediately defensive, especially considering _who_ was shouting at her. "You wouldn't _have_ half the information we're working with if it weren't for me! And before you jump to conclusions, I only told them _my_ secrets, not yours."

Ironwood's glare didn't soften, but he sat back down without saying a word.

Ozpin leaned forward to take back control of the room. "As Qrow stated, we need a plan to pull ahead. Ironwood has theorized in the past that the Vytal Festival would be a prime moment for our opponent to strike. The question is… what will she do?"

Glynda spoke up first, "obviously make a play for the other half of the Maiden's powers."

"Do you think she knows about the vault?" Qrow asked. "Wouldn't this be real easy if she could just… never find Amber?"

"It would be…" Ironwood sighed, "which, of course, means that's not the case. She had plenty of time in the tower the night of dance while Ruby and I fought that… strange Grimm."

"Heartless," Ruby cut off.

"Whatever," Ironwood dismissed. "Do I need to tell you what she was there for?"

Glynda groaned. "The CCT tower is connected to nearly all the systems in Vale, Beacon included. The vault would have been buried under redacted documents and sealed original blueprints… but a skilled enough hacker might be able to extract the data."

"Can Amber be moved?" Ruby asked.

Ironwood shook his head. "The technology keeping her alive was… hastily thrown together. It is not mobile, and it is not likely Amber would survive for long outside of containment."

Ruby frowned as something clicked in her mind. "If she's in such bad shape… how do you expect to bring her back after we deal with the Maiden Thief?"

Ozpin shifted uncomfortably. "We are hoping her power will heal her when it returns, and if not… at least it won't be in the hands of this current monster."

"Which is a fancy way of saying 'we don't know'," Qrow clarified honestly.

The bell for morning classes interrupted the meeting. Ozpin sighed. "We'll have to pick this up again, hopefully a little sooner than the last."

"I can probably get away with skipping the first few minutes of Port's class?" Ruby offered.

"Yet, I cannot afford to be late to mine," Glynda pointed out.

"Right," Ruby conceded.

Glynda and Ruby left together, leaving Qrow, Ozpin and Ironwood behind. Ironwood turned to the Headmaster. "Equal partners?"

"Yes, General," Ozpin deadpanned. "Ruby has done nothing to earn our distrust, in fact, she has saved people on several occasions. She saved you."

"How can you trust someone when you don't know what they're capable of?" Ironwood questioned. "We've seen what she did at the event square. What else is she hiding up her sleeve?"

"And what do you plan to do against the Darkness without her?" Qrow cut in. "Yeah, Ruby is powerful. Maybe more so than our own Maidens. But even with all her strength, she is _still_ terrified of what Darkness is capable of. Even you should understand what that means for how powerful this force is."

Ironwood displeasure was clear on his face.

"We are not asking you to _like_ Ruby," Ozpin assured the general. "However, would you please stop _antagonizing_ her?"

"How much more proof do you need that she's on our side?" Qrow pressed.

Ironwood's frown only deepened. Once again, he felt forced to go behind his allys' backs. _If they aren't willing to do what is necessary… I need to get Penny back on mission soon._

* * *

"… And so I finally tracked down the nest, to find not _two_ beowolves as I originally assumed, but a full pack! Oh-ho, things would be tougher… but I steeled my resolve and _charged_!"

Ruby was busy trying not to fall asleep during Port's class. She was failing. _I swear even_ I _have heard this one before._ Just as her head was about to hit the desk, a digital jingle emanated from her pocket.

Ruby shot up in her seat, eyes wide. Everyone in class slowly turned to stare at her. "Ms. Rose, please silence your scroll when in class," the professor called out.

Yang stared as well but was the only one to share Ruby's exact look of surprise. "Is that…?"

Ruby pulled the offending device out of her pocket. A bulky and colorful communications device. Her Gummiphone. Her brow arched when she read 'unknown' was the contact.

"Ms. Rose?" Port questioned.

"Ruby?" Weiss also reached out.

Ruby answered the call. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she certainly didn't anticipate a pair of large, round ears. "Oh, it's you!" the caller seemed pleasantly surprised, "Ruby, right?"

A beat of silence followed. "Your Majesty?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, hold on!" the screen panned down so Ruby could clearly make out Mickey Mouse's face. "Boy, am I glad someone I know picked up!"

Whispers erupted around the classroom, reminding Ruby she was in a _very_ public place. And she just mentioned a 'Majesty' out loud. She internally groaned. "I'm sorry, professor, but I have to take this," she told Port before quickly dashing out of the room. She didn't slow back down until she found a quiet corner.

"Oh boy," Mickey's spoke apologetically, "was it a bad time?"

Ruby shook her head. "I was surrounded by people, but by the _light_ , you have no idea how good it is to hear from _someone_!"

"What happened?" Mickey asked, "I tried flyin' to the Land of Departure, but the entire world was vanished!"

"It's gone completely…?" Ruby leaned against the wall to slide down it.

"You didn't know?" Mickey consoled.

"At this point, I had guessed as much," Ruby told him. "But confirming it still hurts…"

"What happened?" Mickey asked again.

"The heartless attacked," Ruby explained. "It was overrun. I woke up on my home world, alone. I've called and called, but no one has picked up…" Tears slipped from Ruby's eyes as she dealt with feelings she hadn't confronted for some time. "It's been months."

Mickey's gaze drooped sorrowfully. "I'm sorry. If only I had noticed sooner."

"Well… what do we do now, Your Majesty?" Ruby hoped the King would finally have an answer.

Mickey thought for a moment. "Do you have any idea where anyone else is?"

"I think the Masters might be in the Realm of Darkness," Ruby gave her theory. "I'm not sure about the other students."

"Have you gone lookin'?" Mickey followed up.

Ruby shook her head, "My armor is broken. And even if it wasn't… it turns out there's a threat here, now."

"A big one?" Mickey guessed.

"I think so," Ruby confirmed.

Mickey thought things over for a moment. "I think the best way to start is to regroup," the diminutive King told her. "You said you woke up on your home world? Which is it again?"

Ruby nodded. "Remnant. It should be in the Gummiship's records somewhere, Master Kairi first picked me up in it."

Mickey went of screen for a moment, presumably to search the Gummiship's guidance system. "Got it!" He called out.

"Oh, but I won't be at home!" Ruby quickly informed him. "Look for Beacon Academy once you get here."

"Understood," the King nodded, "it'll take a bit of time, but I'm headin' your way!"

"Thank you, Mickey… I mean- Your Majesty!" Ruby quickly corrected.

Mickey chuckled. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Ruby."

The call disconnected. Ruby felt relief wash over her. After literal months of knowing nothing and mostly winging the situations thrown her way, _finally_ a Master was coming to help her out. "Maybe things will turn around now…"

A tension returned to her shoulders when she realized, "oh Light, I'll have to explain the King to my team and Ozpin, won't I?"

* * *

Penny walked toward her room on Ironwood's flagship. Lately she had been spending as much time here as possible, only leaving for classes. Hell, she'd skip those as well if it wouldn't be a major red flag across Ironwood's desk. All in the effort to avoid Ruby… _If I never see her, I have an excuse for not spying on her._ It was the only plan Penny could figure at the moment.

She opened the door to her chambers and saw something that threatened to freeze all her functions. _No… I thought I'd have more time… to come up with a more permanent plan…_ Turning their wheelchair to face her was none other than Pietro Polendina, her maker. Her father. His face turned up in an impossibly kind smile. "Penny! It's been a while. How have you been?"

"H-hello, father…" Penny greeted nervously. "I thought you had business to finish in Atlas before coming here?"

"And I finished it," Pietro informed the android. "I had to get here as soon as possible for my little girl, didn't I?"

Penny couldn't help but smile despite her anxiety. She always enjoyed the nurturing relationship she had with her father.

"So, I hear you're having a little problem with your memory? Is that right?" Pietro asked.

"Not really…" Penny answered nervously, "are you aware of my current assignment…?"

"I asked about it, but apparently such information is above my clearance level," Pietro informed her.

Penny approached a desk provided for homework, sitting in the desk chair and facing her father. "There is a person of interest at Beacon. I've been ordered to gain her trust. The General has been reviewing my recordings of our interactions."

Pietro frowned in obvious disapproval, but unfortunately couldn't say anything about how Ironwood used his 'asset'. A dark part of the arrangement that made Penny's creation possible.

"I had a m-minor error during the Beacon dance a few weeks ago," Penny continued, still grateful her lie-detecting hiccups had long since been disabled, "and I had to leave to rectify it. I deleted that footage, thinking it would save the General some time."

"And now he wants to see your hard memory, to make sure there's nothing important you missed…" Pietro nodded. He stared into his daughter's eyes, noticing her various twitches and general nervous atmosphere. He casually reached over to the terminal nearby and hit a few keystrokes before turning back to her. "Penny. What aren't you telling me?"

"W-what!?" Penny jumped. "I-I'm not lying or anything…"

"Penny, I know Ironwood disabled your hiccups. I also don't _need_ hiccups to tell when my daughter is… keeping something close to the chest."

Penny's eyes darted to the camera installed at the front corner of the ceiling.

"I disabled the security," Pietro informed her. "One of the few clauses I managed to secure in my favor. Everything about your critical systems is proprietary information owned by myself. Even Ironwood can't know the secrets to your construction. You can't always take the General at his word, but," he glanced to the console, "I have ways to ensure he isn't spying on us. And he doesn't have a legal leg to complain on."

"You… don't trust the General?" Penny questioned, finding such information _incredibly_ relevant to her current dilemma.

"His intentions are righteous, but so were the intentions of many men that history remembers as dictators and tyrants," Pietro explained.

"I see. So, let's say he… gave me a mission that I, um…" she glanced to the apparently deactivated camera once more, reminding herself that Ironwood couldn't hear them. "That I disagree with. What do you think I should do?"

Pietro's kind smile returned. "You've made a friend, haven't you?"

If Penny could blush, she'd be shining right now. "How did you know…?"

"Because you're nervous about completing your mission," Pietro explained. "You've befriended the very target you're supposed to spy on. Am I wrong?"

"No…" Penny admitted, "you are not wrong. I don't want to betray her… but I don't want to betray Ironwood either."

"Well, unfortunately you can't do both," Pietro told her. "So which is more important? The General, or your new friend?"

"Well, obviously a world leader in charge of both Atlas's school _and_ military-"

"You misunderstand," Pietro cut his daughter off. "I mean, which person is more important _to you_."

"To me…?" Penny blinked. The General had never given her that choice. _But the General has never given me_ any _choice… am I even a person to him?_

"I do have to at least _appear_ to be doing as the General asked," Pietro informed her, reaching to plug Penny in and access her systems. "But I promise, I won't tell him anything you don't want me to say."

"Even if he orders you?" Penny questioned.

Pietro smiled. "Of course. _You_ are more important to me, after all."

* * *

Pietro entered Ironwood's office with a file in hand. "James," he nodded.

"Pietro. It's good to see you."

Pietro smiled, setting the file on his desk and opening it. Inside was an image of a mass of computer language that Ironwood couldn't begin to decipher.

"What is this?" the General pressed, unamused.

"It's what you asked for," Pietro reiterated. "Penny's hard memory from the night of the Vytal dance."

Ironwood leveled a hard gaze at the scientist, silently demanding an explanation.

"What?" Pietro seemed almost amused, "were you expecting a simple video file? Memory is more than what we see and hear, general. Our thoughts, interpretations… Penny was designed to perfectly emulate the processes of a human brain. This is the hard data she uses to 'recall' things as she experienced them."

"It still uses audio and visual data to generate these lines of code," Ironwood stated as a fact. "Is there anyway to compile the data back into usable images?"

"Perhaps," Pietro admitted. "Although, that would require use of proprietary information."

Ironwood's eyes narrowed. "Tread carefully, Dr. Polendina."

"I am," Pietro insisted. "As per our contract, I maintain ownership over, and the right to keep secret, vital information about Penny's construction and operation. You understand it's nothing personal against yourself, General. You knew from the start just what the P.E.N.N.Y Project means to me, and my reservations about the program being abused."

"Of course I understand," Ironwood told him, though mostly because there wasn't anything else he _could_ say. Not with how the contract was worded. _It's hard_ not _to feel like this is personal…_

Outside the airship, Penny was strolling across the Beacon courtyard. As much as she didn't want to run into Ruby, she had acquired a distaste for the Atlas Flagship. And besides, Ruby should be in Grimm Studies, so it should be safe…

"Penny!"

The android spun around in shock. _No no no, why isn't she in class!?_

"Hey Penny!" Ruby waved and started jogging toward her. "I haven't seen you since the dance, how have you been?"

"I've… been fine." Penny nodded, taking steps backward away from Ruby. "I am sorry, but I… have somewhere I must be."

"Oh… okay," Ruby watched Penny practically run away. "I wonder if something's wrong?"

Penny ran around a building out of Ruby's sight before slowing down. Despite her father keeping her secret, there was still the concern of how to handle her 'mission'. She knew the General wouldn't free her so easily. So until she had a plan, it was still imperative that she avoid Ruby as much as possible, and hope that Ironwood didn't wise up to her shifting loyalties.


	30. A King Arrives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I usually upload at a far different time of day, but fuck it. My story, my rules, and I can break those rules if I want. Maybe this way I'll wake up to some kudos and comments.
> 
> ...it may also mean there are more minor mistakes than normal, as I haven't taken as many edit reads as normal. I finished writing this, like, ten minutes before uploading it.
> 
> Enjoy surprise late night drop!

Since he wasn't stopping at Ruby's home, Mickey decided to follow normal protocol and leave the Gummiship high in the atmosphere and beam down planetside. Of course, when visiting a world for the first time it could be hard to be accurate with the landing zone. That's how the King found himself moving through some place called Vale while searching for 'Beacon Academy'.

There was something strange about Remnant, Mickey caught on quickly. He had visited enough worlds to know his appearance wasn't exactly the norm, but for one reason or another that never seemed to come up before. But he swore once every couple of passers by, someone would shoot his ears a curious look. A few of the looks were downright dirty, and one person called him a filthy 'something', but it wasn't a word he knew.

After deciding he needed to ask someone for directions, he kept an eye out for someone that appeared friendly and grabbed their attention. "Heya!"

"Oh, hey… you lost?" the man asked.

"I guess you could say that," Mickey nodded. "I'm lookin' for 'Beacon Academy'."

"Beacon? Really?" the man didn't seem to believe him.

"That's right. I'm meetin' a friend, and that's where they're at!" Mickey explained.

"And you don't know where Beacon is?" the man cocked his eyebrow.

"Well… I suppose you could say I'm new to town!" Mickey responded enthusiastically.

The man still wasn't sure he believed everything the strange mouse said, but he figured it was common enough knowledge that there was no harm in providing it. _Even if he does want trouble, what could he get up to in a school filled with buff, young fighters?_ "The big castle up the cliff," the man finally pointed. "That's Beacon."

"Oh. That's easier than I thought!" Mickey smiled. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, sure," the man scratched his head, still unsure over the interaction as he watched Mickey walk away. "You're welcome."

* * *

Ruby's afternoon class that day was Glynda's sparring class. After having to blow off Port's class for the King's call, she decided she may as well show up. She had to at least appear a studious student, if only for the sake of the other students. Of course she didn't actually participate, and she had a feeling Glynda secretly excluded her from the sparring randomizer. As such, she was free to peek out the window when someone wandered on to Beacon campus. Someone she had been waiting for all day.

"Professor!" she shouted, uncaring that she was interrupting an active spar, "may I be excused…" she hesitated for a beat as her brain finished inventing her excuse, "for the bathroom?"

Glynda barely batted an eyelash. "Yes, but could you come here first? I have a message to deliver, and you'll be in the halls anyway."

While Ruby dashed down, her team leaned their heads together for a quiet discussion. "Do you think this has anything to do with that weird call she got the other day?" Weiss asked.

"Gods, I hope so…" Yang muttered. The other two shared a look of confusion. Yang clarified, "that device she answered on? That's the communication device she uses to contact her masters."

"So a Keyblade Master is coming?" Blake put together quickly. "Really?"

"Seems so," Yang smiled. "But not one I know. I got a peek of them over Ruby's shoulder and… they definitely weren't familiar."

"An actual Master…" Weiss thought aloud. "Given what we've seen Ruby do… I can't imagine just how strong they'll be."

"Any stronger than Ruby and they could probably break the school in half. _By_ _accident_ ," Blake quipped.

"I don't know…" Yang opened up on something that had been on her mind for a while, "I have _some_ idea about this stuff, and seeing how much Ruby has improved this year… I do wonder if she's not far from closing the gap herself."

The weight of the theory wasn't lost on Weiss or Blake. They may have no idea how strong a Keyblade Wielder could be, but to be a 'Master' of _anything_ was an incredible accomplishment.

Ruby reached the desk while her team were still whispering to each other. She spoke with Glynda quietly so the two students in the sparring ring wouldn't hear them. "Is there really a note?"

"Not as such," Glynda confirmed, "I just wanted to ask if I should actually be expecting you back?"

"Probably not," Ruby admitted. "In fact, I might have some very good news for the next meeting!"

"Brothers knows, we've precious little of that in recent months," Glynda sighed, "Well, don't let me hold you up."

With Glynda officially releasing her, Ruby dashed through the halls and out the front of Beacon. She tore across the courtyard, zeroing in on her target. Unable to contain her excitement, she literally jumped at the small King. "Your _majestyyyyy!_ " She landed practically on top of Mickey, her knees dragging on the ground while her arms wrapped tightly around the Master.

Mickey played the unexpected hug-tackle off well, patting Ruby's back with a chuckle. "It's good to see you too."

"You don't even know how much… Even after the call this morning, I had a hard time believing this was actually happening…" Ruby confessed. After a moment she seemed to regain her senses and leapt back to her feet in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

Mickey only chuckled. "So, this is your home world?"

"Yup!" Ruby nodded, "Welcome to Remnant." Her smile fell, "so, not to rush anything, but… I've been waiting months for a Master to tell me what's next."

"Well, I'm still a little fuzzy on just what happened to the Land of Departure," Mickey thought aloud, "plus there's this big threat on Remnant?"

"Right…" Ruby nodded, "I guess I have a lot to catch you up on."

Mickey looked around the courtyard. They were alone for the time being, but it wasn't a very private place. "Is there a safe place to talk?"

"Yeah, follow me," Ruby turned to lead Mickey away, while shooting Yang a text to make sure RWBY dorm stayed private for a while.

* * *

She laid everything out. Starting with how the Land of Departure was overrun and how she was cast across the Ocean Between. She told him about how Ozpin bugged her into joining Beacon and her first tenuous weeks at academy. She informed him about the Maiden Thief and the person in the black coat. She confessed to him about her alliance with Ozpin's group, about Remnant's magic and Maidens, and the secrets she divulged in return. After she was finally done recounting to the present, her and Mickey sat in silence for a solid few minutes.

"So," Ruby finally broke, "how much trouble am I in?"

"Whaddya mean?" Mickey asked.

"The World Order?" Ruby reminded him. "My pact with Ozpin is a _huge_ violation!"

"Welp, technically you didn't break _World_ Order," Mickey pointed out, "'cause they still don't know about other worlds, right?"

"But what about everything I've said about magic and the Keyblade?" Ruby inquired.

"It sounds to me like you did what you had to do," Mickey rationalized. "You weren't in an easy place to be, even for Master."

Ruby couldn't believe her ears. "It _can't_ be that easy? This is our golden rule I've broken!"

"Ruby, it doesn't work like that," Mickey told her.

The statement confused the young wielder. "What do you mean?"

"World Order isn't a written law that we police and punish for," Mickey elaborated. "Usually magic isn't even an issue, most worlds do have their own. And this is hardly the first time we've had to inform a World about Darkness and the Heartless. But things will happen because of it, and if those things are bad things…"

"It'll be my mess," Ruby deduced, "and my job to clean it up, right?" Mickey nodded. "But what if there's _no_ mess?"

"Then you'd be luckier than I was…" Mickey confessed.

Ruby looked up in surprise. " _You_ broke World Order?"

"To an old friend," Mickey nodded. "His students overheard, and those students ended up filling half of Organization XIII."

"Wow…" Ruby remembered reading about Organization XIII in Jiminy Cricket's Journals. An excellent resource for recent Keyblader history. It was sobering to hear even the best could make mistakes.

A silence grew between them until Ruby spoke up again, "so, not to sound like a broken record…"

"Right," Mickey nodded, his voice turning serious. "Unfortunately, we don't know much about the one in the Black Coat. We can't do anything about them until they show their hood again."

Ruby nodded, "That makes sense. What about the Masters? Are we going after them?"

"Not we," Mickey shook his head.

Ruby's heart sank. "So after all this, even a Master showing up, I'm _still_ supposed to just… sit here? Waiting!?"

Mickey's eyes narrowed at the young girl. "The Dark Realm is far more dangerous than anywhere you've been in the Realm of Light! It's no place for a trainee!"

"So basically, nothing has changed…" Ruby grumbled, turning to glare out the window. "This is starting to get frustrating…"

A knock at the dorm door interrupted Ruby and diverted both hers and the King's attention. "I understand there are things we can't know," Weiss's voice sounded through the door, "but can I least come inside to change?"

Ruby looked to the King for confirmation. Mickey nodded. "Come on in," she shouted.

All three of her teammates piled into the room, and all three stopped to stare at Mickey. Weiss was the first to speak up, " _you're_ a Keyblade Master?"

"Weiss!" Blake scolded.

Weiss suddenly looked mortified. "Oh, no! I swear, it has nothing to do with _that_!"

"Even so, it was still rude…" Blake scowled.

"Guys!" Ruby tried to take control of the conversation before it got out of hand. Gesturing to the King, she properly announced him, " _ahem_ … May I formally introduce you to Keybade Master, Mickey Mouse!"

"Your last name is seriously 'Mouse'?" Yang grinned.

"Yup!" Mickey answered with all the enthusiasm in the world. "Is that strange?"

Mickey's unshakable optimism disarmed everyone. Yang could only reply with an awkward and honest, "y-yeah, it is."

"Gotcha," Mickey nodded.

Ruby used the break in conversation to continue introductions. "Your Ma- _hah_ -ster Mickey," she coughed slightly as she corrected herself, "Master Mickey, this is my team! My partner Weiss Schnee, my sister Yang Xiao Long, and her partner Blake Belladonna."

"Pleased to meet'cha!" Mickey smiled.

"The honor is ours," Weiss tipped her head to him. Having gotten over her initial shock, her upbringing took over and gave the newcomer the respect deserved by a Master of anything.

Blake crossed her arms in thought. "So… what does a Master being here actually change?"

Ruby's smile fell. "Less than I'd hoped," she lamented.

"Well, him just being here won't magically make things better," Weiss rationalized. "He'll still have to… you know…" Weiss struggled to find a more elegent way to explain. "… _Do_ things," she failed.

"And apparently I'm not allowed to join him on those _things_ ," Ruby grumbled. "I'm stuck here. _Again_."

"Well, there is your Maiden Thief," Mickey spoke up. "I have an idea about _that_ , at least."

Ruby turned back to the Master in surprise. "Seriously?"

Mickey nodded. "You said you felt Darkness fall over the school when 'Atlas' and the visiting students arrived. Now, I understand how the sight of warships can spread fear and anger, but have you considered that the Darkness blanketing the school comes _from_ your Darkness-using enemy?"

Realization dawned on Ruby's face. "I… I hadn't. But that would mean-" Pieces of the puzzle started to click together in the young wielder's head. "I think this is something I have to tell Ozpin."

"I'll trust your judgment there," Mickey assured. A smile found his face. "I kinda wanna meet this fella myself anyways."

"He'll definitely want to meet you." Ruby pulled out her scroll and sent a message to Ozpin to call a meeting ASAP. "Hopefully, a meeting can be held soon."

* * *

Emerald was on edge. Ever since Cinder had gotten that new 'darkness' or whatever she called it, the woman had only grown more frightening. Emerald owed Cinder everything, and would do anything for her. And while it would hard for anyone to claim to woman was a saint, lately she seemed downright… sinister. All the adoration in the world couldn't blind the thief from the sense that this woman just wasn't the Cinder she knew anymore. She had even taken to using her, Mercury and, Neopolitan as 'test subjects' for her new abilities.

She was subjecting Mercury to something that could only be described as torture when a black void suddenly opened in the middle of their room. The void vanished as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a gangly stranger in a heavy black coat. Emerald and Neopolitan drew their weapons while Mercury made an effort to stand that was doomed to fail.

Cinder watched the boy fall back to his knees before turning to face the intruder herself. She smiled, "I was wondering if I'd have the chance to see you again."

Emerald blinked. "You _know_ this person?"

The hood obscured their face in darkness as it always had, but Cinder could tell her guest was staring at her. "Another light has arrived," the enigmatic creature finally spoke.

Cinder cocked an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Another Key," the figure clarified. "And not one you can beat."

"Perhaps not," Cinder spat, thinking back to her bitter draw against Ruby. The dark woman held up a hand wreathed in black flame. "But soon."

The figure didn't respond. Cinder couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as she felt them stare into her very being. "You're losing control."

"Excuse me?" Cinder scowled.

"You're going to lose yourself," the figure continued, unintimidated, "and no one will be able to help you then."

"Oh please…" Cinder's arrogance bled through, "why would I need to fear a tool?"

The figure cocked their head, taking a look at the nearly broken boy on the other side of the dark woman. "I suppose, at this rate… you'll find out."

With that cryptic remark, the figure vanished in another dark cloud. The strike Emerald had been trying to sneakily set up the entire conversation passed through empty air. The thief quickly scanned the dorm. "Where did they go!?" By the time the green haired subordinate turned back to her boss, Cinder's scowl had softened to an unamused glare. "Who were they?"

Cinder _huffed_. "I intend to discover just that someday," she answered. "But first…" she turned back to Mercury.

"Look, boss," Mercury pleaded, "I'll admit I've got some weird kinks… but maybe we can take a breEEEAAAAAHHH!"

Mercury writhed in pain once more. A malicious grin stretched across Cinder's face as her eyes glowed a bright yellow.


	31. A Lesson in Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This month's delay has a name. Cyberpunk 2077. I'm having so much fun, but still managed to get this chapter done in the last couple of days! Please enjoy!

Ironwood stepped into Ozpin's office, internally relieved to see a certain individual absent. He was already frustrated enough at Penny's apparent lack of progress. The last thing he needed was more of Ruby's antics. "I wasn't expecting another meeting so soon," the general greeted.

"Well, we never did finish our conversation last time," Ozpin nodded.

"And besides," Glynda cut in, "Ruby says she might have news for us."

"Ruby?" Ironwood's fist clenched. "You're telling me _she_ called this meeting? Just how much authority do you intend on giving her!?"

Ozpin sighed heavily. "Please, James. Ruby is our _ally_. She would only be threat if we were to make her one, I am certain of that now. Even if you cannot trust her, please trust me."

Ironwood frowned, once again finding himself in the position where he could not find a response despite inherently disagreeing. His eyes turned the elevator in time to see the number start to rise.

Inside the elevator, Ruby couldn't help but be nervous, even as Mickey stayed calm, bordering on optimistic, beside her. She took another peek down at the large-eared Master and a thought came to mind. "Um, Your Majesty?"

"You can stick to Master while we're here. Or even Mickey," the small king assured her.

"Right, Master," Ruby nodded. "Have you heard the word 'faunus' around?"

"Now that'cha mention it, yeah," Mickey nodded. "What is that?"

"They're another humanoid race on Remnant, but they have animal traits" Ruby explained.

"Like that girl with the rabbit ears!" Mickey recalled them meeting such an individual briefly in the halls.

"Right," Ruby nodded.

"Some people in the city called me a faunus," Mickey nodded. "I suppose it would be easier if I played along, huh?"

"It might be, but you should also know that some people tend to not treat faunus well," Ruby informed him.

"I see…" Mickey acknowledged. "Welp, whatever helps me blend in."

The elevator announced their arrival to Ozpin's office, prompting both of them to quiet. As one might predict, all eyes quickly turned onto Ruby's new companion.

"And just who... or _what_... is this?" Ironwood demanded.

Ruby stepped out of the elevator first, wanting to get through introductions before the general could start his crap. "Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow. Ironwood. This is Master Mickey Mouse."

"Master?" Ozpin perked up. "As in _Keyblade_ Master?"

"Yup!" Mickey nodded. "Nice to meet'cha!"

"Well," Qrow leaned forward with a smile, "it's good to finally meet one of you!"

"We are honored," Glynda bowed.

Ironwood remained silent, his jaw setting.

"I do not wish to assume," Ozpin opened, "but you attending this meeting… are you going to help us?"

"I've got my own mission," Mickey informed him. "But I can pass along some advice about your Maiden Thief."

"Our _what_?" James immediately jumped on Ruby's case, "just what right does he have to know our secrets?"

"Oh, maybe because he's Ruby's superior?" Glynda pointed out, her voice raising already. "He deserves to know everything we've told Ruby based on that merit alone. I mean, did you expect her _not_ to report to her Masters?"

"Why are decisions continuously being made _without_ me!?" the general shouted. "We never should have trusted these people, we know _nothing_ about them!"

"Decisions aren't 'made without you'," Qrow countered, "you're outvoted. There is a difference."

"The difference is that I feel like I'm the only one with common sense around here!" Ironwood shouted. "Why are we spilling all of our secrets to strangers!?"

The argument picked up heat. Ozpin couldn't get a word in, and Qrow seemed to think the best option was to let the shouting match play out. As it progressed, Ruby felt a shiver invade her body. Her eyes met Mickey's, and she knew he felt the same thing.

Glynda's voice rose ever higher. "You know, in the beginning your skepticism was a least a little understandable, but what more does she _possibly_ have to show you for you to understand she is _on our side_!"

"Guys?" Ruby tried to interject.

She was ultimately ignored as Ironwood continued to shout, " _She_ is an unknown, and a _threat_ to this brotherhood!"

"Hello!?" Ruby tried again, but even raising her own voice seemed to accomplish nothing.

Even Glynda was now deaf to their young ally, choosing instead to fire back, "the only threat here I see is your _unending_ paranoia!"

Ruby couldn't risk being ignored again. She leapt onto Ozpin's desk, making sure to land with a loud stomp for good measure, and threw her hands out like she was ready to physically hold back the deputy headmistress and the general. "STOP!" she screamed, finally making her voice the loudest yet.

Glynda was successfully shocked into silence. Ironwood wasn't. "You don't get to tell _me_ what to do," he growled.

"Actually, right now? That's _exactly_ my job," Ruby told him. The others then noticed what Ruby and Mickey had already seen. The unnatural black smoke coming off Ironwood's shoulders, as well as the strange yellow hue tinting his normally blue eyes.

"That power you feel welling inside you? You need to shove it right back down," Ruby warned him. "Push it back and lock it away."

James looked down to his hand, seeing the dark energy rise from it. "This… is your Darkness?"

"Yes," Ruby nodded, "and you _need_ to calm down and seal it away."

Far from calming, Ironwood seemed to be on the cusp of the first real smile Ruby had ever seen. "You're saying I have access to the very thing that makes our enemy so dreadful?"

It was exactly the thing Ruby feared. "I know it's tempting, but you can't control it."

"Our enemies do," Ironwood countered.

"That's the thing, they _don't_ ," Ruby pressed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you all for weeks. To invite in Darkness… It makes you feel powerful, it makes you think you're in control. But really, _it_ controls _you_ , and you lose your very self in the process."

Ironwood stared again at his hand. His eyes slowly faded back to blue.

Qrow spoke up to Ironwood himself. "Ruby told me Darkness takes our bad and makes it worse. Like Glynda pointed out, you _have_ been unreasonably paranoid lately." He turned to Mickey, "is this all connected?"

"It's possible," Mickey told him. "You would know him better'n I would."

Ruby stepped down off the desk, capturing Ironwood's attention once again to speak with him. "I told you, to your face, that there are secrets I can't tell you. I understand that you're uneasy working with someone like that. But even if you can't trust me, you _need_ to trust your own team. You need to rely on each other, not on _this_ ," she gestured to the Darkness still coming off his shoulders.

The Darkness faded away, and for the first time since she's known him, Ironwood actually seemed relaxed.

"Well, that was… informative," Ozpin observed. "I think we just received some valuable insight as to what truly makes Darkness so dangerous."

"That is certainly one way to look at what just happened," Glynda commented, keeping an obvious distance from the general.

"And I'm more sure than ever that Master Mickey's advice is correct," Ruby announced. Even before his eyes turned, herself and Mickey could feel the Darkness radiate from within Ironwood. "Ever since the visiting schools showed up, I felt Darkness surround Beacon in excess. I chalked it up to the couple hundred new students showing up, at first. More people is more hearts, and more hearts tempts Darkness…"

"But… you think something else now?" Qrow picked up.

"I'm certain," Ruby corrected. "I'm certain that our Maiden Thief is _here_ , posing as a visiting student."

The room was silent. The idea was bold… but it had merit.

"She would need a 'team' to accompany her," Ozpin tested.

"Which could explain how she disappeared so easily when she attacked the tower," Glynda pointed out. "The ball itself would be her alibi, and her allies would cover for her."

Even Ironwood found himself agreeing with the idea. "If she's going to succeed, she needs inside knowledge of Beacon. So why not place _herself_ as the spy? It's not as though we even know her face."

"Biding her time, waiting for her moment to strike…" Qrow's brow furrowed.

"The Vytal Festival," Ironwood pointed out. "I've said it before, it would be perfect for her. Too many moving parts, too many _people_. And from within the student body, she would have access to Beacon's halls while we all watch the tournament."

"This still doesn't tell us exactly what her plan is," Ozpin reminded them.

"No, but it's a start," Glynda panned. "Now that we suspect, we can start looking into the visiting student's records, looking for discrepancies."

"And what about you?" Ozpin asked Ruby. "A Master has finally returned for you. Are you leaving with him?"

"No, I'm not," Ruby informed them. "Master Mickey's mission is a higher level than I've trained for. Not the mention the Maiden Thief and the Black Coat… I'll definitely still be here."

"And James?" Ozpin turned to the general, "are there going to be any issues with Ruby's continued assistance?"

Ironwood massaged the wrist that so recently flowed with strange power. "Like you said, it was valuable insight."

"Good," Ozpin nodded. "We shall need a way to discreetly check Shade's and Haven's rosters, though we luckily have ready access to Atlas's."

"I should be going then," Ironwood agreed, "start double checking my records."

"And _that_ ," Qrow stood up, "is meeting adjourned."

As people began filing out of the office, Ozpin stood and approached Mickey. "Master," he bowed lightly, "I do apologize that your first impression of us took place in such turbulent air. It is an honor to meet you."

"Likewise," Mickey bowed lightly himself. "Ruby told me quite a bit 'bout you. She admires you, y'know."

"Does she?" Ozpin seemed amused.

"Do I?" Ruby seemed confused.

Mickey turned to the young student, "well, that was the impression ya gave me when you were tellin' me about all this earlier."

"Well, your secret is safe with me, miss Rose," Ozpin quipped.

Mickey chuckled. "You remind me of an old friend of mine. Well, at his best anyway. A very wise fella."

Ozpin smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. And thank you for allowing us to continue borrowing your student."

"Course!" Mickey nodded, conveniently leaving out that Ruby technically _wasn't_ his student. "The Keyblade has a way of takin' people where they need to be."

"'May your heart be your guiding key', right?" Ozpin connected.

After a few more light-natured pleasantries the trio said their farewells and parted ways.

* * *

After departing Ozpin's office Ruby guided Mickey to a secluded section of the Emerald Forest, at the King's direction. Once they were confidently alone, Mickey summoned his own Keyblade. The gold-hilted, blue-bladed, celestially inspired Star Cluster. He raised the blade, using the unique ability Star Cluster provided him and him alone. A set of large, white double doors materialized slowly in a blinding light in the middle of the clearing. A door to the Realm of Darkness.

"I guess you're off to look for the Masters?" Ruby asked.

"Yup," Mickey nodded, "but don't worry. Even if I don't find 'em right away, I'll still come back from time to time to check in. I don't plan on up and leaving you high and dry."

Ruby didn't want to admit how internally relieved she really was at the statement. "Thank you," she offered simply.

"Well, ya been without a Master for too long," Mickey rationalized. "Speakin' of, any last questions before I leave?"

"Actually, yeah…" Ruby held up her broken bracer. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Hmm…" Mickey looked over the gauntlet. "Sorry, but I've never used Keyblade armor. I didn't even know it _could_ break like that. It should act a lot like the Keyblade itself… it broke when the Land of Departure fell?"

Ruby nodded.

"Have you tried summoning it lately?" Mickey asked.

Ruby looked down to the device. She recalled something Penny had once said, ' _I could be mistaken, but the damage to your gauntlet appears to be less severe than when I saw you last._ ' She pressed the switch for the first time since she landed on Remnant, and it began to glow briefly before sparking out and remaining broken.

"Sorry," Micky frowned.

"No, don't be!" Ruby assured, "That's more than it's done in nearly six months."

"Maybe just give it more time," Mickey offered. "Welp, I should be off."

"Of course," Ruby held her hand to her chest, "and may your heart be your guiding key."

"You really say that?" Mickey noted.

"Yeah…" Ruby turned slightly red with embarrassment. "The 'old ways' always fascinated me. I like the idea that some greater 'Light' is watching over me."

 _The old ways…_ a more elective part of Ruby's studies quickly surfaced at her own words. Mickey turned to open the door to the Dark Realm, but Ruby interrupted him. "Your Majesty!"

"Yeah?" Mickey turned back.

"'Lux'… that's an old word for 'light', right?" Ruby asked.

"Hm... I think so," Mickey calculated. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just… something that came up recently," Ruby told him vaguely. She didn't want to elaborate before she had a better idea what that elaboration would entail.

Mickey nodded, accepting that answer. He finally opened the white doors and stepped through into the clouded darkness beyond. Ruby watched the door vanish, her thoughts turning inward once again.

_Lux Firaga…_

* * *

"Business as usual, then…" Ruby told herself on her way back to RWBY dorm. She was passing the courtyard fountain when she spotted Penny, curled up on a stone bench and muttering to herself. The young Keyblade wielder approached slowly, her curiosity skyrocketing.

"No, no, that won't work… why can't I think of _anything_ the won't result in me being… being…"

"Being what?" Ruby announced her presence.

Penny literally jumped off the bench and onto her feet. "Ruby! Nothing, nothing is wrong!"

"I didn't if anything was wrong… is something wrong?" Ruby questioned.

"As I said, nothing is wrong!" Penny insisted.

"Okay… well, it's actually good I found you. I wanted to ask you something," Ruby began to gesture to her gauntlet.

"Oh, well unfortunately I am very busy at the moment," Penny invented quickly.

Ruby raised her eyebrow. "You… are?"

"Well, not right _this_ moment, but I do have something I need to get to!" Penny recovered. "Like, right now! Goodbye!"

For a second time in recent days, Ruby watched a flustered Penny all but run away from her in a panic. _She's definitely going through something… but what?_ Ruby was determined to find out and help her friend.


	32. Penny's Freedom

Ruby and Weiss were relaxing in RWBY dorm. Though to be fair, as Yang is all too willing to point out, their 'relaxing' is different than normal people's 'relaxing'. For Weiss, this meant light studying on material that was not actually a part of their curriculum. It seemed to be her life goal to absorb the most information a single person has ever absorbed. For Ruby, it meant doing whatever prep she could think of to improve her spellwork or, as in this instance, looking over her broken armor switch.

Ruby sensed a weight settle next to her and looked over to see Weiss had actually taken a break from her own work to examine the bracer alongside her. "Heya, partner."

"Heya," Weiss responded. Sudden realization flashed onto her face. "Did I really just say that…?" she groaned.

Ruby laughed, "don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Promise."

"Thank you," Weiss sighed, taking their 'secret' perhaps a little too seriously. "So, what is the deal with that thing anyway? You've never told us why it's so important to you, or why you can't fix it."

"Well, it's my armor," Ruby told her.

"I can see that it's armor…" Weiss pointed out.

Ruby laughed again.

Weiss frowned. "If you're done making me the butt of jokes that I don't even understand…"

"Sorry, sorry…" Ruby smiled. "And seriously, Weiss… if fixing this was as easy as heat and hammer at a forge, don't you think I would have done it by now?"

"Right. Magic," Weiss shook her head. Despite accepting that magic exists, it was sometimes still tough to wrap her head around these things. "So what _is_ it made out of?"

"Same thing as the Keyblade," Ruby informed her.

"Light, or so you say…" Weiss scratched her head. "So what, is it some meteorite alloy? Comes from the sun or something?"

"No, Weiss. Literal light," Ruby insisted.

"But light is insubstantial!" Weiss argued. "You can't possibly gather enough to make it solid without serious-"

"Weiss!" Ruby interrupted. "Magic."

Weiss stuttered and groaned. "Of course…" The heiress took the bracer in her own hands. "I guess that explains how something so heavy looking can actually be so light. As in lightweight, obviously, not the other kind of- oh gods this is already getting confusing."

"I guess I've had a _long_ time to get used to it," Ruby rationalized.

The phrasing made Weiss turn a confused eye to her team leader. "Is three years a ' _long_ ' time?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," Ruby shrugged. "But I've been groomed for Keyblade training since I was five."

"Five!?" Weiss was startled.

"Yeah, Master Kairi and Master Aqua went to some pretty great lengths to earn my dad's trust," Ruby confessed.

"I guess you could get used to anything if you've been dealing with it for _literally_ as long as you can remember…" Weiss conceded.

The heiress still held Ruby's gauntlet in her hands, looking over the cracks with renewed interest. "So it's made of light… if it's anything like your weapon, it's simply too durable to be traditionally re-forged… Which begs the question… how is it even possible it broke in the first place?"

"If I knew the answer to that, I might be able to figure out how to fix it," Ruby lamented. "I mean… I think it's repairing itself? It's just… very slow about it."

"Hmm…" Weiss starting mulling things over with a new mindset. Mainly by forgetting what she thought she knew about weapon and armor design, because clearly _none_ of it would apply here. Instead, she tried to focus on anything and everything Ruby had ever said regarding her magics. "It broke when your school was attacked, yes?"

"Yup," Ruby felt like she had answered that question a dozen times by now.

"Attacked by Heartless?" Weiss continued.

"Um… yes?" Ruby wondered where Weiss was taking this.

After a few more moments, Weiss smirked. "Occam's Razor."

"Pardon?" Ruby cocked her eyebrow.

"It means the simplest answer is usually correct," Weiss explained. "Heartless, Keyblades, magic… it all sounds very complicated on the surface. But when you dig deep… your fight is actually quite simple. It's just light versus darkness. Perhaps even this is simpler than it seems?"

Ruby leaned in with renewed vigor, her partner's words striking a chord. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying maybe the reason your armor of light is broken is because… darkness," Weiss stated.

Ruby held her chin in thought. Weiss's theory gave Ruby an epiphany. "It's an infection."

"Stalling your armor's 'light' from doing its work," Weiss nodded, accepting Ruby's take on her words. "I mean, it's not the craziest idea when dealing with magic weapons and metals made of photons."

"Even it still slowly repairing itself… It's because of my training!" Weiss's theory had Ruby on a roll, "I've been strengthening my own light. As a wear my gauntlet, some of my new light bleeds into it, slowly destroying the Darkness trapped inside… and if that's the case…"

Weiss smiled triumphantly as the armor switch was ripped from her hands. Ruby held it with one hand and slowly lowered the other hand over the faceplate. "If that's the case, then I should be able to…" The vambrace began to glow.

Before Ruby could actually test Weiss's theory, the door suddenly burst open.

"Dear Brothers!"

"By the Light!"

Yang had exploded into the room, nearly giving both girls within heart attacks. Blake slinked into the room behind the blonde brawler with a knowing smirk. "I told you to slow down, Yang. I think they might have thought you were a literal explosion for a second."

"Explosion, after all we've been through?" Weiss jumped to her feet and started counting off, "Torchwick, Neopolitan, the Ringleader? _The Black Coat_? You're lucky I didn't spear you with Myrtenaster as a simple precaution."

"Well, sor-rry," Yang spoke, not sounded very sorry. "I'm just super excited and you nerds are missing out!"

"On what, exactly?" Weiss questioned.

"They're delivering the arena!" Yang spoke up. "Hurry up, we gotta get to the courtyard if we wanna see it!" With that, Yang had vanished once again. Blake shrugged and walked after her partner.

"Oh! That _is_ exciting, actually," Weiss smiled.

"They're delivering an _arena_?" Ruby asked. "What arena?"

Weiss stared at Ruby with disbelief. "Okay, seriously, _where_ was your school? Never mind, I know you can't answer… Just come on," the heiress hurried out of the dorm.

Ruby shook her head, previous events temporarily forgotten as she strapped on the still broken bracer and followed her team.

* * *

Ruby didn't know what to expect after hearing the words 'delivering the arena'. The sight of a massive floating colosseum, grandiose enough to match even Olympus's arena of the gods, certainly didn't disappoint. It passed slowly across the sky, coming to a stop over the fields just beyond Beacon's courtyard. Yang steps back next to her sister, speaking quietly into her ear. "Amity Arena," the older sister explained, "the battleground for the Vytal Tournament."

As everyone stared in awe at the colosseum, Ruby quickly became distracted by seeing Penny in the crowd. It was hard to track the synthetic girl down the last few days, and Ruby was becoming ever more confident she was being avoided. She couldn't let this opportunity pass. She wove through the crowd, approaching her strange friend and tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, Penny!"

Penny, predictably, jumped in place, her eyes going wild. "Oh, hello Ruby! I am sorry-"

"-but I must be leaving?" Ruby cut her off. "Where? What is going on with you?"

"What? Nothing is going on…" Penny insisted. "I'm simply busy."

"Doing what?" Ruby pressed, refusing to let this go.

"N-nothing too important," Penny lied quickly, "but I really must be going…" The android started her retreat.

Ruby followed quickly, remaining on Penny's heels even as the android sped her stride until she was nearly jogging. They quickly left the crowd watching the arena arrive behind, and turned a corner effectively separating them from the rest of the students. Penny shouted behind herself back at Ruby, "you don't need to follow me, really!"

"Just tell me what's wrong," Ruby insisted.

"Nothing is wrong!" Penny repeated.

At this point, Ruby _knew_ that was a lie. "Then why are you running?"

"I am not running!" Penny replied while practically running.

Ruby was done chasing. She summoned Crescent Rose to her hand and pointed it Penny's way. " _Stop!_ " The android froze in place, allowing Ruby to calmly walk around in front of her.

When Penny unfroze she nearly toppled into the Keyblade wielder, just barely managing to stop herself short. "How did you…"

"Penny," Ruby spoke sternly, but compassionately. "Please, just tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help?"

Penny slowly dropped into a crouch, hugging her legs. She was trapped. Ruby wouldn't leave, and if Ironwood viewed this… "I… I am so sorry…"

The Keyblader knelt down next to her friend. "Sorry for what?" Ruby asked, happy she was getting somewhere.

Penny struggled to find the words. "I don't want to betray you… but the general is making it difficult for me to do what _I_ want…"

"Ironwood?" Ruby's eyes narrowed. "What does he want?"

"He wants to know… about you." Penny finally confessed. "I'm supposed to be spying on you. I was always supposed to be spying on you, since I met you at that café."

"What?" Ruby's eyes widened at that. There was no way Ozpin was okay with this… Was he doing this behind Ozpin's back?

"I wasn't supposed to genuinely befriend you…" Penny continued.

Ruby frowned, thinking over the situation. "You don't want to spy on me anymore?"

Penny shook her head.

"But you still do?" Ruby questioned.

Penny winced. After a moment of silence, she spoke up, "The general doesn't take no for an answer. I've trying to think of a way to stop, but the general has the authority to shut me down..."

"Shut you down!?" Ruby was startled, "you mean _kill you_?"

"The general would not see it that way. I am not a person to him... just another cold, unfeeling machine."

"So the general is using you to get to me..." Ruby concluded.

"I don't expect you to forgive me..." Penny confessed, "but I am sorry..."

"Hey," Ruby gripped Penny's shoulder in a comforting gesture, "you have nothing to apologize for. I can't fault you for following orders before, and I can't blame you being scared of him. I mean, you said yourself you've been trying to find a way out?"

"I am, but I think he is already beginning to suspect…" Penny revealed. "It doesn't help that I already got caught deleting a recording…"

"Recording?" Ruby asked.

"That's why I've been avoiding you…" Penny explained. "My eyes and ears record everything. Once he sees this… It's already too late for me."

"Why not just run away?" Ruby asked.

"You think he could not find me?" Penny scoffed.

Ruby was in thought for a long moment. Eventually she pulled out her scroll and sent out a message. After, she took Penny's arm and stood them both up. "Come on, I think I have an idea."

"You do!?" Penny was surprised. Was it really as easy as going to Ruby this whole time? "What is it?"

"We're going to Ozpin," Ruby told her. "If anyone can protect you from Ironwood, it's him."

In his office, Ozpin received a text from Ruby. ' _You, Glynda, Qrow. NO IRONWOOD_ ' _._

* * *

Ozpin's eyes gradually darkened as he listened to Penny's story. He leant forward, resting his hands together in front of his mouth, thinking. "I must admit, I am surprised. I never would have guess James would take this route."

"I could have," Qrow cut in.

"Peace, Qrow," Glynda scolded, though her heart clearly wasn't in it.

"I promise it's all true Headmaster," Penny pleaded, approaching his desk with her palm out. "I can show you recordings!"

"That won't be necessary," Ozpin assured her with an outstretched hand to stop her. "I believe you, Ms. Polendina. But we must handle this carefully. Ironwood has very much not been acting himself lately. And it seems there may be a… _dark_ reason why." Ozpin looked to Ruby as he added that last piece.

"Confronting him with this… it could send him over the edge," Ruby feared. Penny fell silent beside her as the conversation pulled away from what the android could understand.

"What exactly would that entail?" Glynda asked.

It suddenly occurred to Ruby that while she had told people of the Heartless's existence, she never really elaborated on the Heartless themselves. The young wielder realized they didn't yet know, "If he gave into his Darkness, it's very likely he would become a Heartless."

The room was deathly silent. "The Heartless… they're _people_?" Qrow finally broke.

Ruby sighed, mentally preparing herself for another lecture that may be breaking World Order. _At this point, they deserve to know. Especially if Ironwood does fall._ "There are two kinds of Heartless, Pureblood and Emblem. Pureblood Heartless are naturally born from the Darkness. If a heart falls to Darkness, or is captured by another Heartless, the heart itself becomes an Emblem Heartless."

"Is there any way to restore a fallen heart?" Ozpin asked.

"One… Magic or the Keyblade can release the captive heart. If it can find it's way back to it's body, the original person can be restored," Ruby explained. "I'm not sure if your Maiden Magic counts."

Qrow shifted forward, "and if someone like me were to destroy an Emblem Heartless?"

" _You_ technically can't destroy Heartless," Ruby informed them. "Only displace them. They'd pop up again somewhere else sometime later."

"We're speaking of the heart independently," Glynda pointed out, "what of the body?"

"That's actually kind of a long conversation I'd rather not have unless I had too. I've already told you guys so much…" Ruby lamented. _Although,_ Ruby realized, _I wouldn't be surprised if Ironwood had the will to form a Nobody…_

"You said Pureblood Heartless are 'natural'. Do you know where they come from?" Ozpin asked next.

Ruby frowned. "I can't say. But as long as there is Darkness within a single heart, the Heartless will always be."

"And every heart has both dark and light," Ozpin lamented. "You don't need ancient training to observe such a simple truth."

Glynda took it upon herself to steer the conversation back on topic. "Now that we have pushed Ruby to her limitations and possibly beyond yet again… what shall we do about James?"

"Even if we were to put Penny's wish for freedom aside, we must confront him," Ozpin rationalized. "We decided as a group to trust Ruby. His spying on her behind our backs is a betrayal of our brotherhood. Hopefully, we can do so tactfully and keep him from falling to Darkness. If he does fall…"

"Then leave him to me," Ruby insisted. "This threat only exists because of the rules _I've_ broken. It's on me to clean up my mess."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Managed to get this chapter out a little faster than I've been managing lately! This calls for a sexy party...
> 
> If I weren't too introverted to have a party. Or too ugly to have a sexy one...
> 
> Anywho... I'm going to start transitioning to a more KH-y plot in the next couple of chapters. I stated near the start of this story that it will either be fairly long or have a sequel, and I've finally decided to just have it be fairly long. I can only speculate at this stage, but I'd say were about half-way through. I know some of you have been very patient yet quite vocal regarding Ruby's fellow Keyblade students. Not to tease you too much, but it shall pay off soon! I did start this story with some idea of how it would end, I assure you! And I hope you all continue to enjoy as the chapters unfold.
> 
> And hey, if these updates are a little too sporadic for you and you crave more KH/RWBY goodness, hop on over to Fanfiction.net and check out the excellent RWBY: Aqua's Mission by TPoynt! While I've credited Fears and Lies Melt Away as inspiration in the past, TPoynt's story was also instrumental in my decision to write Kingdom Hearts: Remnant, and to be honest, out of the two, I enjoy Aqua's Mission more.
> 
> *movie announcer voice* After saving Terra-Nort from the realm of Darkness, the last thing Aqua expected was to wake up in a new world! Trapped on Remnant, she finds a home with Ruby's family and even trains the young Rose in the ways of the Keyblade. Will she ever find her way back? What is the young Ruby's destiny? And why is that scruffy drunk so handsome? Read 'RWBY: Aqua's Mission' to find out!


	33. Ironwood's Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm amazed with how quickly I've finished this chapter. I think it's because I've been waiting for this one for a while now. It also ended up as one of the longest chapters I've written for a chaptered story. Honestly, I just couldn't wait for you all to read it. I really hope you guys like it as much as I think you will!

" _I appreciate the increasing frequency of our meets, but unfortunately the logistics of delivering Amity are actually keeping me quite busy today. Sorry, Oz, feel free to carry on without me today."_

" _I'm afraid this is too important, James. I am sorry to impose, but I must insist you attend."_

" _Did something happen?"_

" _Not yet, but it may."_

" _Normally I would be glad to blow off some paperwork, but the council is watching the Vytal Preparations closely."_

" _It's about Ruby."_

"…"

" _James?"_

" _I'm on my way."_

Ironwood reflected on Ozpin's call from within the elevator rising to his office. What was Ruby getting up to this time? More nonsense about Light and Darkness? Another mysterious figure for her to spill all their secrets to? Or perhaps she was finally dropping all pretenses and attacking them. _That_ would certainly set everyone else straight. _Maybe they will finally start to listen to me._

The elevator opened to reveal the normal ensemble, Ruby included. _I guess she's not attacking. Yet._ "Alright, Oz. What is so important that you would risk the ire of the world council to address it?"

"I wish to discuss… us," Ozpin chose his approached carefully.

"Us?" Ironwood asked.

"Our brotherhood," Ozpin clarified. "Lately there has been a lack of cohesion. I think a discussion about how certain recent decisions were made is in order."

Ironwood crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "You mean all the decisions you have made without me?"

"Decisions made without you and you being outvoted are two different things," Qrow reminded him.

"Excuse me?" Ironwood frowned.

"What Qrow means to say," Glynda jumped in with her most compassionate voice, "is that despite how things may _appear_ , we do value your opinion. We trust you James."

"All we ask is that you trust us," Ozpin closed.

"I do trust you," the general assured. He then pointed to Ruby, "it's _her_ I don't trust."

"Let us put that aside for a moment," Ozpin continued to steer the conversation. "What we are trying to establish is that we have never made a decision without your presence, without at least hearing what you had to say. Agreed?"

Ironwood opened his mouth to argue, but quickly closed it. As much as he felt ignored, he couldn't exactly say that they had left him in the dark. "Fine. Where is this going?"

"The autonomous decisions _you_ have made without _us_ ," Ozpin stated plainly.

Ironwood was unsurprisingly offended. "I would never betray this group!"

"We decided, as a group, to trust Ruby," Glynda picked up. "However, it seems you have been spying on her behind all of our backs."

Ironwood so hated the sight of the Keyblade wielder that he missed a shape cowering behind her, until penny took her cue to leave her hiding place.

"Penny?" Ironwood questioned, "what are you doing here?" He stared down Ruby, "what did you do!?"

"Ruby did not 'do' anything," Penny defended. She looked to Ozpin for reassurance before saying what he had advised her to say. "General… I… have moral objections to my current mission. Beyond that…" she took a moment to calm her nerves. "Beyond that, I wish to leave Atlas."

There was a beat of silence.

"Given the situation, I presume you know what Penny is?" Ironwood asked Ozpin.

"We do," Ozpin nodded.

"Then you know Penny cannot 'want' anything. She is a machine," Ironwood deadpanned.

"No!" Penny put her foot down. Her confidence was rising by the second. "I have a soul, you made sure of that. I have a heart, too. It doesn't matter that I'm made of metal and circuits instead of flesh and bone… I am a person. I do 'want', and I know what I want."

"No, Penny, you can't!" Ironwood argued. " _She's_ done something to you, I'm sure of it! She's been trying to undermine me at every turn!"

"Undermine you?" Qrow immediately jumped to his niece's defense. "I'd say she's given you a hell of a lot more leeway that you've _ever_ given her!"

"We can't trust her, we know _nothing_ about her!" Ironwood stated for the umpteenth time.

"We know plenty, James!" Qrow countered. "We know what she's capable of! We know she's an expert on things we still know very little about! And we _know_ she is on our side!"

Ruby felt a now-familiar shiver. She didn't like where this was going.

"We also know she had further information she _refuses_ to tell us!" Ironwood was nearly screaming at this point, and black smoke rose from his shoulders.

Ruby stepped forward, refusing to allow herself to be ignored like last time. She held up her palms as a show of peace. "We can talk about this as long as you want until you're satisfied," she assured him. "But you need to stay calm."

Ironwood looked around to room. His eyes stopped on the Keyblade wielder. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. They opened bright yellow. "No. I'm not listening to you any longer. This group hasn't been lacking trust, it's been lacking _action_. I'm done waiting for the rest of you to come to your senses."

The general's hand started to hover toward his holster. "I will bring the full weight of the Atlas Military down on our enemies, I will root out our Maiden Thief and save our world, but _first_ … I'm finally going to take care of the threat that's been in front of us this entire time!"

Faster than anyone could hope to stop him, he drew his pistol and fired at Ruby. His shot was clearly amplified by the Darkness he was succumbing to. There was a flash of red light as Ruby summoned Crescent Rose, but it was unclear whether she managed to block the blast. Either way, the sheer force launched her backward and straight through the window.

" _James, what the HELL!_ " Qrow yelled.

"Ruby!" Penny screamed, dashing to the window Ruby was flung through.

Ironwood's aim remained steady. The Darkness seeping off him only seemed to intensify. "I am sick of the 'wait and see' mentality around here… I will do what I know must be done…" The general turned around and stepped toward the elevator. "'Wait and see' me save us all…"

"Ruby!"

The relief in Penny's voice prompted Ironwood to turn back around again. Ruby slowly rose into view from outside the window until her method of survival was made clear by the sight of her Keyblade Glider. Ironwood scowled and raised his pistol once more.

"General," Ruby addressed him with a steady voice. "I don't want to this, but you're running out of chances to give me any choice. Lower the gun and calm yourself. Before you lose yourself…"

"Calm myself…" Ironwood scoffed. "And be rid of the _one_ thing you fear? No… I will use this power to save Remnant from _you_." He began to squeeze the trigger.

* * *

The allure of watching Amity Arena drift across the sky wore off pretty quickly. A lot of people remained in the courtyard, but they had mostly dispersed into smaller social groups rather than stay one large crowd. Blake and Weiss were in a conversation with another first-year team while Yang skulked close by, waiting for Ruby to return from wherever she had vanished to this time. Their only clue was a message nearly forty-five minutes ago simply saying 'Ozpin meeting'.

An explosion shook the very ground around them. All eyes turned upward where a dark shape surrounding by what could only be described as living shadow plummeted from Ozpin's office in the tallest tower all the way into the courtyard. If one squinted, they may make out a bright glint following it down. Yang was one of those who squinted. "Oh no…" the blonde took off toward the falling shapes.

Weiss and Blake turned to each other. "There's few things that could scare Yang like _that_ ," Weiss noted.

"Let's go," Blake agreed, and the pair sprinted after their blonde teammate.

The dark shape hit the courtyard and rolled across the ground. A humanoid shape could be made out inside the Darkness, but few could tell who it was. Ruby soon followed, dispelling her Glider and calling Crescent Rose in weapon form to her hand. "Everyone!" she shouted, "get to safety!"

No one moved.

Ruby raised her Keyblade and summoned a bolt of lightning, which struck the tip and startled everyone around her into listening. "IN THE CASTLE, NOW!"

"Ruby!" Yang called out her approach, "what's going on?"

"The general," Ruby answered, pointing to the swirling Darkness with her weapon.

Weiss and Blake arrived to hear this response. "Ironwood?" the heiress asked. "He's in that somewhere?"

"He _is_ that," Ruby corrected.

"How do you mean?" Blake questioned.

"He lost himself to Darkness," Ruby answered.

The clouds began to form solid shapes. A canine limb the size and breadth a large tree stomped out, cratering the ground beneath its paw. The rest slowly solidified into a massive dog-like Heartless. Half black flesh like a Pureblood Heartless, with the other half made of what looked like cybernetics, split perfectly down the middle. Its head remained mostly untouched by machinery, and sported razor-sharp teeth and large, permanently angry yellow eyes.

When later pressed by her Masters while recounting this event, Ruby would dub Ironwood's Heartless 'War Dog'.

"'Safety' goes for you too," Ruby told her friends.

"Nuh uh," Yang shook her head.

"We're a team," Blake reminded her.

"And we've got your back," Weiss assured.

War Dog threw its head back and howled before pouncing. "Pinch it!" Ruby leapt upward while bringing her Keyblade down, striking War Dog square on the nose and burying his muzzle into the concrete. The momentum of the strike carried Ruby further into the air. Blake and Weiss jumped into position on either side of the head, reared back, and struck simultaneously.

"Yang, uppercut!" Ruby shouted as she began to fall back down. Yang pulled back her fist, loaded a Dust round, and struck War Dog's brow as hard as she could. War Dog's head rocketed upward in time to meet Ruby's falling strike. A quick Scan told Ruby they had some respectable damage, but there was still a ways to go.

War Dog raised it mechanical front paw, which burst with energy and became coated in lightning. The paw slammed into the ground, releasing the energy in a wave that was impossible for RWBY to dodge. It followed with a swipe from its black front paw which went to wide to strike Ruby and Yang. Blake managed to shadow-clone herself out of he way at the last second. Weiss, however, took the full brunt of the attack.

"Weiss!" Ruby cried. The heiress was flung at Beacon castle, bouncing off the wall. Her aura flashed, barely holding together while she crumpled on the ground. The Keyblade wielder raised Crescent Rose to cast a cure spell, but noticed a shadow pass over her before she could incantate. The mechanical paw attempted to crush her, and Ruby raised her guard at the last second. The ground beneath Ruby cracked as she barely caught the paw with her Keyblade.

A shape rushed out of Beacon's front doors and slammed into War Dog's mechanical leg. Pressure lifted off Ruby and the young Keyblader managed to push the offending limb away and Qrow landed next to her. "So this is Ironwood?" Qrow asked, still wrapping his head around things.

"It used to be," Ruby clarified.

War Dog attacked again. The remaining fighters dodged with ease, with Qrow sticking close to Ruby. The two strategized as they danced around the beast.

"You're the one with experience," Qrow pointed out as he dashed to avoid War Dog's bite. "Where do you need us?"

Ruby parried and slapped away a paw slam. She watched carefully with Scan as she did so. How easily Weiss had been taken out had her thinking, just how much of that earlier damage was actually done by her teammates? How much was done by Ruby alone? Keyblade training enhanced her strength to super-human levels, she knew it was inevitable she would leave 'normal' fighters in the dust. The damage she was doing now, mentally compared to the chunk of damage from before, told her that she might already be starting to do so.

And if strengthening her light on her own these past months has had this much affect on her body, what could she do with her magic?

"Just take care of Weiss," Ruby told him bluntly, breaking off for a moment before shouting at War Dog, "Hey, Iron-jerk!"

War Dog turned its head to the Keyblade wielder.

"If there's still any of you left in there, then you know _I'm_ the one you hate!" Ruby slapped her own chest, "COME AND GET ME!"

Yang, Blake and Qrow watched, dumbfounded, and Ruby sprinted away and the giant canine tore after her.

Blake was the first to gather his senses, "is she really going to try and take that thing _alone_!?"

"Are we certain she _can't_?" Yang pointed out.

"Damn it, Ruby!" Qrow took off after his niece.

"Wait, Qrow, Weiss!" Yang tried shouting, but her cried fell on deaf ears.

Blake took a look back at the heiress. She seemed bruised but not broken. Her eyes turned back the direction Ruby ran. She didn't know what the right choice was, but she knew she didn't have long to decide. "Sorry, Yang," was all she offered her partner before running off after Ruby as well.

"Seriously!? Come on!" Yang groaned loudly.

Glynda stepped out of Beacon's doors in time to see Blake run off. She caught Yang's attention, "do you need help?"

Yang sighed. "Just keep students inside," Yang told her. "I doubt any of us want them to see whatever Ruby does next. I'll get Weiss to the infirmary."

Glynda nodded, accepting Yang's plan.

* * *

Across campus, by the edge of the Emerald Forest, Ruby finally felt comfortable engaging War Dog. She found a lamppost to start Flowmotion, and jumped to twirl around it. War Dog grinded to a halt nearby, momentarily confused by the sudden red aura around its prey. Ruby jumped off the pole, arcing upward before beginning to come down. War Dog raised its maw, ready to counter.

What it didn't know was that Ruby wasn't aiming its head. She passed right by his razor teeth and summoned Crescent Rose in time to deliver a heavy, Flowmotion enhanced strike to his mechanical arm. Ruby wasted no time turning around, and had plenty of time to see and counter the black paw speeding toward her. "Reflaga!" The black paw crashed into the magic barrier, which burst instantly and dealt significant damage itself.

Qrow and Blake arrived at that moment, and both stopped short. They realized that maybe, _just maybe,_ Yang had a point about them not knowing just how strong Ruby was. It wasn't often the young Keyblade wielder got to go all out, and it was a sight to behold.

War Dog lunged with its open mouth once more. Ruby was prepared, and leaped over the beast's maw. A short flip later and she was standing right in front of one of its large yellow eyes. She didn't hesitate to swipe the bright orb with Crescent Rose. War Dog roared and threw its head back, subsequently tossing Ruby into the air. War Dog decided once more to try and capitalize on this, opening its mouth for its foe to simply fall inside.

Ruby easily corrected her position in the air. She only had a fraction of a moment to plan, and decided to play it by instinct. Her Keyblade was pointed downward at the Heartless, and she cast right down its throat with a devastating " _FIRAZA!_ " The fireball that left her Keyblade was nearly the size of Ruby herself, and exploded in the back of War Dog's throat. The beast lurched backward, and Ruby fell safely past its now closing mouth, taking the opportunity to slash at its neck as she passed.

Even after her calculations earlier, her next Scan revealed more damage had been done that Ruby had guessed. The young Keyblade wielder had never fought at this level before, and she had to admit it was _exhilarating_. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this amped up in a fight, she felt like she could do anything.

_Anything… maybe I could do…_

War Dog was still dazed from swallowing the fourth-teir fire spell. Ruby back up quickly, putting some easy distance between her and the Heartless canine. She pointed her Keyblade at each of the front paws in turn, "Graviga! Graviga!" The concrete beneath the paws themselves began to crack, at it became obvious that War Dog couldn't move it's legs.

With War Dog immobilized, Ruby straightened her posture and focused her magic power. She recalled her fight against the Maiden Thief, how much energy flowed through her in order to cast the _megaflare._ She knew she would need a similar amount of energy now, thankfully she had bought herself the time she needed to build it up.

A magic circle appeared under Ruby's feet, the sheer energy flowing outward fluttering her clothing and hair. An identical, though much larger, circle appeared in the sky above her, tilted so that it faced War Dog. Ruby raised her Keyblade above her, then thrust it back forward to aim at War Dog as she cried the incantation.

" _METEOR!_ "

The magic circle above her flashed, transforming into a massive flaming rock, larger than War Dog's head, which shot out like a bullet and _exploded_ against the giant Heartless's form. The beast was lifted from the ground and thrown backward by the force of the explosion, sliding briefly as it landed before falling still. Black smoke escaped its form, along with a large crystalline heart that faded into the ether.

"Holy…" was all Qrow could muster at what he just saw. "I guess she really _could_ handle it herself…"

"Just how powerful can she get?" Blake wondered to herself. _And how has magic on this scale_ never _been recorded?_

Victory was sweet. But it was also brief.

The unmistakable sound of a Dark Corridor turned all three sets of eyes to the black portal. It faded as quickly as it appeared, leaving behind a thin figure in a heavy black coat.

"It's you!" Ruby jumped into her combat stance. She barely had a sliver of magic energy left, but that didn't mean she wouldn't fight.

"You really do appear out of thin air…" Blake remarked, recognizing the Black Coat Figure from what Ruby told them of her side of the Mountain Glenn mission. She raised her weapon, just in case.

The Black Coat tilted its head at Ruby. "You've been getting stronger."

Ruby didn't respond, only continued to stare Black Coat down.

"I followed my Darkness. Listened to it. I finally know what to do…" The Figure raised their hand, "you're not the only one who can get stronger…" The ebbing Darkness from War Dog suddenly began rushing into the Black Coat Figure's palm. There it was absorbed, and Ruby swore she could see the vapors coming from the Figure's shoulder growing darker with each pulse. Once all the shadow was taken in, the Figure closed their palm and lowered their hand.

"Steal as much Darkness as you want," Ruby taunted, "I'll still beat you."

"Maybe. Maybe not," the Figure spoke with a non-committal shrug. "But we won't find out today." Another Dark Corridor appeared to swallow the Black Coat Figure once again.

Blake's combat instincts told her to pursue the enemy. Her curiosity was probably just as much to blame if she was being honest. Whatever her influence was, the truth remained that Blake's next choice was to dash for the dark portal.

"Blake, stop!" Ruby shouted quickly. "Don't!" The Keyblade wielder ran to intercept her teammate before she could do something incredibly stupid.

"I'm not letting him get away!" Blake explained, ignorant of the danger she was heading for.

Ruby put one last desperate push into catching up, and managed to close her hand around Blake's wrist… unfortunately, most of Blake had already entered the Dark Corridor. Ruby's attempt to intercept her only resulted in the Keyblade wielder being pulled in behind her as the portal closed.

Qrow could only blink emptily at what he had seen. He waved a tentative hand in the empty space where the portal was a moment before. Yang had finally caught up while he was feeling the air, and surveyed the surroundings. "Uncle Qrow?" she finally asked.

"Yeah?" Qrow answered absently.

"Where are Ruby and Blake?"

"I honestly have no fricken' idea…"

* * *

Darkness was pain. The philosophical implications of that realization was something Blake might contemplate later, but at the moment it was a purely literal observation. Jumping into the dark vortex tunnel felt like jumping into a vat of acid, burning her skin and torturing her psyche. She was quickly reaching a point where she would do anything to survive, even if it meant following Ironwood's lead…

Ruby was having a better time, if only slightly. The enchantments of her clothes helped, but only so much could be done against the raw Darkness that the Corridors pulled one through. She had an idea, though it was mostly an ad-lib of a plan. The words _Occam's Razor_ flitted through her mind as it formed. Perhaps they could free themselves of this darkness if there was an overwhelming light.

_But where to pull that much light? Crescent Rose should do it, but I might need a larger conduit if I want to save Blake too…_

The plan was set. Ruby still had a grip on Blake's wrist, which she used to pull the girl close and wrap her gauntlet arm around her. She summoned Crescent Rose into the opposite hand, pumping as much light energy as she could find within both herself and the weapon into the darkness around them. She brought the fist still holding her Keyblade down on her Armor Switch, pouring light into that as well. The glow began dull, but quickly became brighter and brighter until…

There was an explosion.

They were thrown out of the Dark Corridor long before they reached the end, just as Ruby hoped. They hit concrete hard, separating from each other and rolling across the ground. As she was both in much better shape and panicked for her friend, Ruby was quick to find her feet at dash to Blake's side. "Curaga!" was cast without a second thought, and she saw Blake slowly relax as the corrosive Darkness left her being.

Amber eyes opened slowly, looking up and down Ruby's form. "Ruby? Is that you?" she asked.

Confused, Ruby looked down at herself. Instead of black and red cloth, she found herself looking at bronze and light-rose tinted plate and mail. Her hands found her head, where she felt not skin, but the metal and vizor of her helmet. _My armor…_ A smile began to grow across her face, until her eyes found Blake again. _I can celebrate later,_ she told herself, _I need to tend to her first._

Ruby dispelled the armor with a thought, revealing the her Blake was familiar with after a flash of light. "Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"

"I don't know… sore?" Blake answered. "Not in pain anymore, so that's nice…"

"Do you… feel like yourself?" Ruby asked carefully. "Do you feel a kind of… hungry strength deep inside, bubbling like it wants to boil right to the surface?"

"Um… no?" Blake was confused by the line of questioning.

"Thank the light," Ruby sighed. "That means I can do this…"

"Do wha-"

_SLAP_

Blake was definitely awake after that, and rather shocked too.

"I told you _not_ to jump into the portal!" Ruby scolded.

"I didn't want the Black Coat escaping!" Blake shouted back, still offended by the slap. "I figured you be behind that!"

"Well it didn't exactly feel pleasant, did it!?" Ruby screamed. "Raw Darkness like that can do a lot more than kill you, Blake! I mean, you _know_ I know stuff you don't, so why didn't you _listen_!?"

Blake flinched. She had no response to that.

Ruby could tell Blake knew she did wrong now, and used a heavy sigh to expel her anger. "Blake," Ruby spoke calmly now, "you're lucky you're still alive. But you're even luckier that you're still _you_. Jumping headlong into Darkness isn't just dangerous to you. it's dangerous to everyone you might hurt if you become… something else."

_Like Ironwood._

"I get it…" Blake responded solemnly. "I guess… I was just tired of everything we do going nowhere… It felt they were taunting us, showing up just to disappear again. I promise, next time you tell me whether or not to do something… I'll assume you have very good reasons to say so."

"Good," Ruby smiled. "Now we just gotta figure out where we landed," the Keyblade wielder stood to take in her surroundings. "Let's see if we can't find out where… we… are…" Ruby's face fell. "Uh oh…"

"Ruby?" Blake had stood as well, and was currently looking out over a nearby balcony ledge to view a large city that appeared to be built in circular layers. "I've been to every major kingdom on Remnant, and this looks like none of them."

"Yeah…" Ruby commented. She was looking the opposite direction Blake was, which happened to be a massive castle they had landed right in front of. A castle with tall, symmetrical designs that were decorated with spikes and round, cartoony skulls. A sign above the front door read 'Death Weapon Meister Academy'. "Yeah, I'd bet it doesn't…"


	34. Black Star's Welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few things to clarify before we get into the chapter.
> 
> I understand there's significant difference between the anime and manga for Soul Eater. So just so everyone is aware, I have only ever consumed the anime and I am basing the Soul Eater world in KH:R off the anime as a result.
> 
> Soul Eater world is also post canon, for reasons that will become clear in future chapters. I say this now rather than letting the story reveal it because it's been some time since I've seen the end of the Anime, and while I am working through it again now, I haven't finished it yet. I'll try to stay ambiguous on details, but if there is something I get wrong, I hope this explains why.
> 
> Finally, I wrote this in spurts over the past several weeks, and finally made a huge push and finished only a few minutes ago. It's five AM where I am, I'm tired, but impatient to get this chapter out. This is a straight up no edit adventure, unless I fix things after the fact once I'm more awake later.
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> -VengfulFate

The student body watched as well as they could through Beacon's windows, even after the strange dog-like beast chased that first-year prodigy out of sight. _Most_ of the student body, if you counted Mercury Black as one of the student body. While everyone else was still in awe as the battle began in the courtyard, Mercury was already halfway back to Cinder's team's guest dorm.

Emerald broke away too, intent on looking for Cinder to get her opinion. She reached the dorm shortly after Mercury, in time to see him packing his bag. Cinder was temporarily forgotten as she called out her partner, "what are you doing!?"

"Getting the hell out of Dodge," Mercury told her, not slowing his packing.

Emerald scoffed, offended on her boss's behalf. "You're just going to abandon us?"

"Don't pretend this isn't everything you wanted," Mercury shot back, "me gone so you can have Cinder all to yourself. Wake up, Sustrai. She never cared about you, she only cared about keeping you loyal."

"You're right, I do want you gone," Emerald admitted. "But it's not my decision. You think Cinder will just let this happen?"

"I think the _thing_ Cinder is becoming won't care," Mercury told her. "I want to survive. And I'm starting to think sticking around here will only get me killed. Possibly by Cinder's own hand." The assassin hefted his packed bag over his shoulder and walked toward the door.

Emerald stepped in front of the door, blocking his path. "What on Remnant are you talking about?" she asked.

"You cannot be this _blind_ ," Mercury shook his head. "This new power of Cinder's is driving her insane!"

"Because she was such a charitable saint before the Darkness," Emerald pointed out.

"Yeah, she was always a cruel witch," Mercury nodded. "But can you _really_ tell me she's always been so… vicious? Using us as guinea pigs, obsessing over her new power… She's on a dangerous path, and I'm pretty sure we just saw a glimpse of how it will end."

"You mean that giant dog Grimm?" Emerald questioned.

"That thing wasn't a Grimm," Mercury countered. "It was Ironwood."

Emerald stuttered, but quickly shook her head. "I'll give you that there was a humanoid shape in the cloud the monster came from, but you couldn't possibly tell it was Ironwood."

"You can take one look at someone and figure out if they're worth stealing from, that's _your_ talent as a thief," Mercury explained. " _I_ can take one look at somebody and figure out if they're my target. Even if they're in rags and hiding in dark alleys, I'll have studied them enough to know. That's _my_ talent as an assassin. And Cinder has had me studying Ozpin's group since the moment she recruited me."

Emerald bit back a snide remark. As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't honestly say he was wrong. "Okay, maybe that thing was Ironwood. What does that have to do with Cinder?"

"That black cloud he was in felt a lot like the boss's 'Darkness'," Mercury revealed. He finally pushed Emerald aside and reached for the door. His hand stopped as he gripped the knob. "Look, I don't think the Cinder we have now is the same Cinder we swore our skills to. Maybe you should get out too, while you still have your life."

Emerald was only unnerved for a moment before stealing her resolve. "No… no, you're just justifying your own cowardice. I won't be shaken so easily."

Mercury rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You can't say I didn't warn you. That's enough to keep my conscious clear. See ya, Em." He opened the door…

"Going somewhere, Mercury?"

…and was met by Cinder's cold glare.

To his credit, the assassin didn't panic. Only sighed in disappointment with himself. He knew he was already caught, and so he didn't try to lie. "As far away from Vale as possible, as fast as possible."

"Is that so?" Cinder scowled. Her eyes shifted from amber to yellow.

Mercury didn't even blink. "If you're going to kill me, just do it."

Cinder appeared to take a moment to consider her options, though it was only play. "Very well."

Mercury was blasted back into the room, slamming against the far wall and crumpling onto the ground. Cinder stepped into the room and closed the door, taking a brief moment to be thankful that the entire school was focused on the courtyard, and would be blind to this corner of campus. Dark flame began surrounding her as she stepped towards Mercury, who was slowly and defiantly finding his feet.

Mercury's eyes flitted Emerald's way. "You can't say I didn't-"

The Steel Assassin was engulfed in black fire before he could finish his sentence.

* * *

 _This is bad_.

Ruby turned to Blake and watched her teammate begin to scan the castle with widening eyes.

 _This is_ really _bad. I need to control this situation before_ _it gets out of hand!_

"Blake!" Ruby called out, suddenly taking her faunus friend by the shoulders.

Amber eyes filled with questions turned Ruby's way.

"So… you know how we were _just_ talking about how if I gave you strange orders, you would trust I'd have my reasons?" Ruby brought up tentatively.

Blake's eyes narrowed. "That was ten seconds ago, so… yes…?"

"Good," Ruby nodded, "I need you to _stay quiet_."

"Pardon?" Blake recoiled.

"I'm serious, Blake!" Ruby pressed. "If someone tries to talk to us, let _me_ do the talking. If anyone asks you strange questions then deflect, pretend to be mute if you have to, but _do not_ answer, not even to say 'I don't know'!"

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

Ruby shook her head, "and for the love of _all_ things holy, no matter how weird things may get, do _not_ ask any questions of your own!"

"Why?" Blake questioned.

"Please, Blake," Ruby pleaded with her hands clasped together. "This is probably the most important thing I will _ever_ ask of you… I need to hear you promise!"

" _WAHOOOOO_!"

The shout brought the pair's attention to a figure currently falling toward the courtyard, having to have leapt off one of the castle balconies. A boy with wild blue hair and star tattoo on his shoulder landed with a heavy slam before standing slowly.

Everyone stared wordlessly at each other until the boy finally spoke up. "Speechless, huh? Not that I blame you. It's not often you get to stand before such a big man like myself."

The generous brag was more than enough to loosen Blake's tongue. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked to Ruby's ire.

"Blake!" Ruby scolded quickly while holding her index finger over her lips. _Sure the dude sounds full of himself, but he could also_ actually _be the most famous person in this entire world!_ , the Keyblade wielder fumed silently. She turned to face the man, trying to mend bridges. "Sorry about that! We're just a little stunned is all… you really know how to make an entrance!"

The boy crossed his arms before responding, "you're one to talk. That explosion of yours shook the whole school. It took everyone's attention away from my grand speech!"

"I'm sure they were devastated," Blake replied dryly, rolling her eyes at the boy's obvious arrogance.

Ruby was stuck on an entirely different part of the boy's response. "Attention…?" She looked toward the doors of the castle and, sure enough, a crowd was beginning to gather. "Uh oh…" she had a bad feeling about this. "Look, we're just travelers passing through," Ruby tried to invent quickly. "We're sorry if we caused a commotion, we'll be on our way." The young wielder tried to pull her team mate away from the castle and the crowd at its base.

"You know, I never did answer your question," the boy spoke, stopping the pair in their tracks. "'Who am I?'"

Ruby turned again, trying her best to be cordial. "That really isn't necessary…"

The kid threw his hand up, pointing toward the sky and shouting, "I am the man who will surpass God himself! The biggest man you will ever meet! The world's greatest assassin, the legendary Black Star!" His arm slowly dropped until he was pointing at Ruby and Blake. "But most importantly… I'm the big man who's going to _kick your butt_!"

"WHAT!" Ruby reeled.

"You didn't think you could steal my thunder and walk away, did'ya!?" the kid, Black Star apparently, hollered. "I got a reputation to uphold!"

"Black Star's playing into his reputation, all right," was briefly heard from within the crowd by a bored sounding male voice.

The comment provided insight, but was otherwise ignored by Ruby, who was still trying to defuse the situation. _How does Master Kairi always manage these things without starting fights?_ "You don't need to do that! The thunder is all yours! We're not even fighters!"

"Ruby, what are you talking about?" Blake's confusion continued to rise, "we attend-"

" _Blake, you are really not helping!_ " Ruby cut her team mate off through her teeth. "Please just be quiet…"

"Oh, but do tell 'Ruby'," an authoritative voice broke through the crowd. Ruby followed the voice to a tall man with stiches on his clothing and skin, and an actual screw stuck through his head. "What are you trying to say? Perhaps that that's an oversized toothpick on your friend's back? Or perhaps that the armor fragments you wear are just for show?"

Ruby froze. She suddenly went from dealing with an overzealous and stubborn kid closer to her age to an obviously intelligent man who clearly didn't trust her. She already had a hard time responding to Black Star. She had no idea how to answer this man.

"Your silence speaks volumes, but there are other ways to answer my questions," the stitched man spoke confidently. "Tsubaki," he called a girl nearby with a star design on her clothing matching Black Star's tattoo, "I think your partner needs you."

"Right," the girl Tsubaki nodded before jogging toward Black Star.

Another girl in more traditional school dress and twin-tails stepped next to the stitched-up man. "Are you sure about this, Dr. Stein?"

"You think we shouldn't test these two, Maka?" 'Dr. Stein' asked in return.

"Not that," the girl named Maka assured, "but are you sure this should be handled by _Black Star_?"

Dr. Stein only took a brief second to consider his answer. "Black Star's self-aggrandizing nature may make his attempts at stealth difficult, but when it comes to a head-to-head fight he can back up most of what he says. If anything, what most people see as his greatest flaw may be his greatest strength in a fight. It makes people underestimate him."

"All that hardly matters anyway," the bored sounding boy from before, sporting white spikey hair, stood next to Maka. "Once Black Star gets worked up like this, it's just hard for him to hear 'no'. Simple as that."

"You definitely have a point there, Soul," Maka responded to the boy.

Only bits and pieces of this conversation were picked up by Ruby or Blake, who were more concerned with Black Star and his apparent combat partner joining him. Ruby didn't see any way out of this fight anymore… Even running away would only start a manhunt for them, and it wasn't easy to hide in an unfamiliar city. She turned to Blake, hoping against hope the girl would actually listen to her this time. "Stay out of this fight."

Blake couldn't believe her ears. "I'm not just going to let you fight alone!"

"I'm serious, Blake!" Ruby laid into her, quietly so the people around them couldn't overhear. "This isn't a polite request! Too many of my rules have been broken today already, and those rules forbid me from allowing you to interfere here!"

Blake did take a step back. She wasn't used to Ruby laying down the law like this. Despite her numerous questions about her mysterious leader, the faunus still respected and ultimately trusted her. Blake didn't want the two of them to be angry with each other, and she could tell Ruby was at her wits end regarding whatever aspect of this incident Blake herself currently didn't understand. So she simply nodded and got out of the way.

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief before turning to her apparent opponents. "I appreciate you giving me a moment with my friend."

"Wouldn't be fair of me to strike you in the back before you're ready," Black Star told her. "I'm too big a man to resort to cheap tricks like that."

"It's still appreciated," Ruby assured him. "Do you two need a moment as well?"

"HA! As if!" Black Star raised his arms, "Tsubaki!"

"Right!" The girl jumped into the air and began glowing pure white. Once she was pure light, she shapeshifted into the form of a pair of hand scythes connected by a chain that always seemed to be whatever size it needed to be. Black Star caught the chain scythes and settled into his combat stance.

Blake's eyes widened. "Wait, how did she-?"

"Blake!" Ruby cut her off. "No questions, remember?"

Blake shut her mouth and looked around, quickly realizing that no one else reacted to a girl magically transforming into a weapon for someone else to use. An idea began to form in her head… a stray thought that seemed impossible, but would explain so much if it was true.

Ruby took her own combat stance, summoning Crescent Rose into her hands. Blake noted that Ruby's power _did_ elicit a reaction from the crowd. A harsh murmur spread quickly, and the word 'witch' could be picked up frequently. Maka was one of the few to stay mostly silent, her gaze locked onto the Keyblade in disbelief. "That sword…"

Black Star made the first move. He threw one end of the chain-scythe, which flew perfectly straight at Ruby. The Keyblade wielder deflected it easily, keeping her eyes on her opponent. Black Star grabbed Tsubaki's chain and yanked. Ruby was quick to pivot and block the returning scythe blade. Black Star kept the chain taut, locking the two weapons together. Using that leverage, the self-proclaimed assassin pulled himself through the air toward Ruby. Ruby took one hand off her Keyblade, turning the palm toward the approaching assailant.

"Reflect!" The barrier expanded outward from Ruby, pushing the scythe blade off her Keyblade as well as blocking the new attack. Black Star was still airborne when the barrier burst, knocking him back a fair distance. Black Star was agile enough to land on his feet, and quickly recalled both scythes to his hands. He ran toward Ruby and assaulted her with rapid strikes, each one easily blocked by a Ruby solely focused on defense.

Her strategy wasn't missed by her opponent. "If you stay on the defensive forever, you won't win!"

"I didn't even want to _fight_!" Ruby reminded him.

"Then you've already _lost_!" Black Star goaded, suddenly pulling Tsubaki's chains. Ruby failed to notice them slowly saturating the air. The chains wrapped tight around Crescent Rose, keeping her from moving her weapon.

Ruby growled. She was already mentally exhausted from helping Penny, dealing with Ironwood, fighting War Dog, and accidently jumping with Blake to another world, all without break. Ruby liked to think she was a kind and patient Keyblade wielder, but even she had her limits. As far as she was concerned, she had gone above and beyond to try and keep the peace. Now? Now she needed to let off some steam.

"Fine!" She answered, dispelling Crescent Rose and placing both of her palms on Black Star's chest. " _FIRAGA!_ "

The resulting explosion launched Black Star across the courtyard. The crowd at the courtyard collectively gasped. Dr. Stein's eyes narrowed. "Interesting…"

Crescent Rose reappeared in Ruby's hand as she ran after Black Star. Tsubaki was still lying across most of the ground, and Black Star was quick to use this. "Smoke Screen! Ninja Blade!" he shouted. Tsubaki's entire weapon form burst into a dense cloud of smoke. Blinding Ruby, but not for long.

"Aero!"

A burst of magic wind cleared the smoke quickly enough to ruin Black Star's sneak attack with a different weapon form, a short dagger. Ruby dodged with a pirouette and slashed at Black Star's back with her Keyblade. Black Star was quick to spin around and lash out, but Tsubaki's blade only met air. Ruby had leapt backwards, opening up distance for another spell.

"Blizzaga!"

The spell hit Black Star's leg, freezing it to the ground. To his credit, the assassin didn't blink. "Tsubaki! Shuriken!" In a flash of light, the dagger turned into a giant throwing star. Ruby was running toward Black Star to capitalize on his immobility when he threw the massive, spiked disc.

Ruby, thinking quickly, flipped over Tsubaki and used the decorative rose 'teeth' on her Keyblade as a hook to catch the throwing star by its center hole and fling it back at Black Star. The hit shattered the magic ice and laid out Black Star.

Ruby took a deep breath, her frustration successfully vented. It was time to return to being a responsible Keyblade wielder. "Are we done here?" she asked the prone boy.

"Hardly," Black Star growled. He managed to stand and took his weapon partner back in hand in chain-scythe form.

Ruby shook her head and raised her weapon, settling back into a defensive mindset. Black Star began his rush, and Ruby responded in kind. Even without frustration, she still had to defend herself.

Suddenly, a deep, booming voice filled the air around them, " _STOP!_ "

A black shape landed on the ground between the two fighters, stopping the combat effectively. The shape appeared to be vaguely humanoid, as if wearing an oversized cloak and hood, with a mask that resembled a cartoony skull. He straightened his posture and turned to face the larger crowd.

"Oh boy," the figure was suddenly speaking in a higher pitched and friendlier sounding voice, catching Ruby off guard. "I haven't busted out the dark and scary voice in quite some time. I do apologize."

"Lord Death?" Black Star questioned.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. _Like the grim reaper?_

"Yes, I'm sorry to interrupt the excitement, but this duel must come to a stop," Lord Death announced.

Someone from the crowd stepped forward. "But Lord Death, these people-"

" _Are not witches_ ," the true reaper interrupted. "I understand their arrival was unorthodox and their abilities are strange, but they mean us no harm. If it helps, consider them my personal guests from this point forward. And as such, consider them under my protection. They are not to be questioned or attacked, understand?"

Dr. Stein sounded a grunt of curiosity, but ultimately was beholding to his boss and leader. "If you say so, Lord Death." He turned to the crowd, "all right, back to class all of you!"

"Yes, yes!" Lord Death followed up cheerfully. Two large white hands appeared from Ruby didn't know where to wave off the students. "Go, enjoy your young lives!"

"Now wait a minute!" Black Star cried, "I didn't get to finish my fight!"

" _I'm_ finishing it, Black Star," Death tried to explain.

"Hey, I don't care if she's a witch or not, I'm not gunna just let a fight go! That's like admitting defeat, I'm way too big a man for that!"

Tsubaki returned to human form to try and reason with him. "Come on, Black Star, it's more like a draw and that's basically winning, right?"

"Hell no!" Black Star argued, "A draw isn't a win at all! Come on, let me at 'em! I'll use my fists if I have to, I'll knock em down in no time flat!"

" _Reaper chop!_ "

Faster than Ruby could see, Black Star was out cold with a dent in his head and the side of Death's hand was smoking. Tsubaki profusely apologized for her partner before dragging his body inside the castle.

Everything seemed to happen so quickly that only now did Ruby's mind catch up enough to assess the situation. She looked up to the strange reaper, "Lord Death?"

"Hm? Yes?" Death turned to face Ruby.

"Not that I don't appreciate the whole stopping the fight thing…" Ruby asked carefully, "but… how do you know I'm not here to cause trouble?"

"Because I know what you are," Death explained, "and I know where you came from. At least insofar as it's not from 'here'."

Ruby's eyes widened. " _What_?"

"Hmm…"

Ruby could fell Lord Death's gaze bore into her behind that weird mask.

"I think we should continue this discussion in private," Death declared. "Follow me."

The true reaper started sliding along the ground toward the castle. Ruby motioned for Blake to follow as well before falling into step behind Lord Death.


	35. A Dark Revelation

It was easy to follow Ruby and Lord Death through the halls of the strange academy. Easy enough for Blake to look around and take in her surroundings. Everything looked normal on the surface, the halls and people created an atmosphere very similar to Beacon's. But little details were just… off. If not downright _impossible_. She heard things about souls, but they were talking about 'wavelengths' instead of Aura, and she witnessed another case of someone casually turning into a weapon for someone else to use.

Blake had traveled over too much of the world to not know a place like this, where everything that should be impossible was faced with straight faces and uninterested eyes. Like it was all normal. The stray thought from earlier came back to mind, and Blake almost dismissed it. _It should be impossible… but how many impossible things have I seen lately? Even putting today aside, everything about Ruby… this could explain that mystery, too… Could it really be?_

"Ruby?" Blake finally spoke up when she was sure no one would overhear them.

Ruby also looked around to make sure no one was too close herself before answering. "What is it?"

"We…" Blake hesitated, still not believing what was about to come out of her own mouth. "We're not on Remnant anymore, are we?"

Ruby sighed. Knowing might help Blake follow her instruction to not say too much. _It's kinda too late to keep it from her anyways_. "No, we aren't."

Blake's eyes widened, her gaze dropped and she fell silent. Even with all the evidence, she still wasn't expecting that answer. It was clear she would need some time to come to terms with this revelation.

Death continued to lead the pair through a door, under a line of guillotines that acted as a hallway, and into a unique domed chamber. Images of clouds slid across the blue wallpaper to imitate the sky and thin grave markers surrounded a raised platform with an elegant mirror on the far side. Lord Death stopped shortly before the mirror.

"This is my private chamber, the Death Room," Lord Death explained, "we can safely discuss important secrets in here with no fear of being overheard. Now," the reaper turned to his unexpected guests, "what brings two young Keyblade warriors to my humble world?"

"Two?" Ruby cast a quick look to her faunus teammate. "Oh, Blake isn't actually a wielder."

"Oh my," Death worried for a moment, "but she's still not from _this_ world?"

"Yeah…" Ruby confessed. "An accident brought us here. We were in a fight, and the enemy used portal made of Darkness to escape. Blake jumped in before I could stop her, and I fell in after her. We escaped the Darkness and ended up here."

"You jumped into a Dark Corridor without _any_ protection!?" Death directed his surprise at Blake.

Blake seemed to shrink. "I didn't know it was a bad idea at the time! I was just trying to stop a threat…"

"I suppose that makes enough sense," Death accepted and turned back to Ruby, "so what now? If you have no reason to stick around, I assume you'll be leaving soon?"

"About that…" Ruby looked to her armor switch. "I _can_ travel worlds, but I don't have a way to protect Blake in the Ocean Between."

"So your friend would be stranded…" Death observed. "There must be something you can do?"

"I have a way to contact someone with a Gummi Ship!" Ruby explained, "…but they're on a mission right now. They promised to check up on me, though! I'm sure once Master Mickey returns to Remnant and realizes I'm not there, he'll call me, and then he can pick us both up."

"I see. Well, until then, you are welcome to use my school for asylum," Death offered. "And my offer for protection still stands. Not that you need it, but it might make not answering questions easier if you use me to deflect."

"Thank you, Lord Death," Ruby gave a short bow. "Can I ask _you_ a question?"

"Of course," Death nodded.

"How do you know about the Keyblade, and the World Order?" Ruby asked.

"Surely it's come up in your studies?" Death pointed out. "Some worlds have individuals powerful enough or old enough to remember things others have long forgotten. Usually both. Be they gods, kings, or otherwise, they're often seen as some kind of leader. King Triton, Philemon, and Santa Claus to name a few."

"Wait, Santa Claus?" Blake suddenly voiced.

"And besides that," Death continued, practically ignoring Blake, "we have had our own Keyblader visitor just a few years ago. I'm actually rather surprised you don't know about my world, Master Enxi would have told you, right?"

"Uh, Master who?" Ruby crossed her arms. She had never heard that name.

"Master Enxi?" Death tried again. Ruby only shook her head. "He arrived, fought off some Heartless, and sealed this world's Keyhole? He even found an apprentice from among our number!"

Ruby shook her head again, "none of that is familiar to me."

"Hm," Death thought for a moment, "perhaps he's not associated with your particular school…"

"But how can that even be?" Ruby wondered. An old conversation she once had with Yang came to mind. _Other Schools, with other wielders, spread across The World, like dandelions… All fairy tales start somewhere._ "Could that old story really be true…?"

"It would seem so," Death responded, knowing what Ruby was referring to without asking. "Well, if your school is not familiar with us, I'm sure they would appreciate some recon on your part. Feel free to sit in on a few classes and learn what you can of our world. Make the most of your time here before your Master picks you up."

"I think I just might," Ruby accepted with a smile. She turned to her teammate, "how about it, Blake?"

Blake looked up in surprise. "I think I'm still processing… well, everything about that conversation. I didn't even know other worlds existed before all this…"

Ruby thought for a moment before returning her gaze to Lord Death. "Is it okay if she stays in the Death Room?"

"Of course, you two are my personal guests, that hasn't changed," Death reassured.

"Thank you, Lord Death," Ruby bowed shortly. "Blake, I'll find you if Master Mickey calls."

Blake only nodded and watched Ruby leave the Death Room.

Death lingered in the silence for only a few seconds before breaking it. "Blake, was it? Do you happen to like tea?"

"Huh?" the faunus looked up and noticed a table, tea set, and floor cushions had appeared out of nowhere. "Uh, yeah…"

"Do me the honor of sharing a pot then, and I'll answer any question you have to the best of my ability," Death offered, taking his seat. "Or we can drink in silence as you think, it's up to you."

Blake only hesitated a moment before joining him and taking her own cup. "Thank you, uh… Lord Death."

* * *

Ruby found some level of enjoyment sitting in on some of the DWMA's classes, and she learned quite a bit. Like Remnant, the people here fought using their souls for power. However, this was mainly done by linking souls together. A 'meister' fought with a 'weapon partner', a living person with the ability to transform into a weapon. The pair would bounce soul energy off one another, with the wave gaining more power with each pass. It was a fascinating concept, a unique brand of partnership Ruby doubted existed anywhere else.

Ruby also learned of the main enemies fought on this world, the 'kishin'. Or, more accurately, corrupted humans whose souls evolved into 'kishin eggs'. An actual 'Kishin' was an atrocity that only happened once, but once was enough. It couldn't even be killed, only captured for the next 800 years. Death founded the academy to prevent another full Kishin from being born and built it over the Kishin's prison. Until the Kishin escaped, and the DWMA fulfilled its promise by actually destroying the monster. But the threat of another Kishin was omnipresent, and the school remains.

"Now I just need to remember all this when I actually have the chance to report," Ruby remarked to herself as she wandered the halls between lectures. "I hope His Majesty finds the others soon…"

Another individual was wandering the halls with a purpose of her own. Maka finally spotted the strange visitor in red and caught up to her quickly. "Hey! Ruby, right?"

"Hm?" Ruby stopped and turned to face the girl. "How do you know my name?"

"I was in the crowd when you fought Black Star," Maka reminded her before offering her hand, "Scythe Meister Maka Albarn."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, half the school was there watching," Ruby joked lightly. She took the young Meister's hand to shake, "Ruby Rose. Scythe Meister, eh? I've always liked scythes, where's your partner?"

"Probably slacking off somewhere 'cool'," Maka responded. "I, um… wanted to ask you a question."

 _Uh oh_. "I can't promise an answer, a lot of stuff I deal with is classified," Ruby played off without losing her smile. _It's not really a lie._

"Oh, it's not about your missions or anything," Maka assured. "Actually, I wanted to ask after a friend of mine?"

"What makes you think I know your friend?" Ruby asked.

"Well, your weapon," Maka explained. "See, my friend came to possess a magic sword similar to your own. I still don't even know how, it seemed to come out of nowhere shortly after they lost… a different power."

 _Similar to mine? Death did mention that Master taking an 'apprentice' from this world. Is that Maka's friend?_ "Let me guess… someone showed up and took them away for training, but no one would tell you where?"

Maka's eyes lit up. "That's right! So you _do_ know them!"

"Actually, no…" Ruby admitted.

Maka deflated. "Oh…"

"But I am interested in learning about them!" Ruby quickly assured. "If their weapon really is like mine, I'd love to find them. And when I do, I'll let them know you're worried."

Maka did seem to cheer up slightly. "I guess that'll have to do. Thank you."

"Do you have a picture?" Ruby asked.

Maka cocked her head. "A picture…?"

"Of your friend?" the young wielder elaborated. "Maybe a yearbook? If this school does yearbooks. Does this school do yearbooks?"

"Oh!" Maka seemed to have an idea and grabbed Ruby by her hand, "follow me!"

Ruby allowed herself do be dragged through the school until they reached what appeared to be a main hall. They stopped at a wall that had a massive blow up of a newspaper article. "This is an article about the day we stopped the Kishin Asura. Let's see, I know this shot caught them…"

Maka heard Ruby gasp, and curiously turned to see her stare at the picture with wide, fearful eyes. "What is it?"

Ruby's vision tunneled onto a face she _had_ seen before. The thin frame, the narrow face, the droopy eyes… And even though the image was colorless, Ruby knew that choppy, uneven hair was a light pink. She finally found her voice, and pointed to the familiar face, "Don't tell me… _that's_ your friend?" Ruby asked Maka.

"Yeah, that's Crona," Maka answered. "But… why is that a bad thing?"

"I'm sorry Maka, I can't… I have to go," Ruby turned heel and made for the Death Room as fast as she could.

* * *

"… and so the worlds remain separate, and secret. Never to interact again, and the secrecy, never to be broken," Death finished a lengthy explanation.

"I see…" Blake nodded thoughtfully. "Even if there are people that can be trusted with the knowledge, on such a large scale it's too much of a risk that the wrong people will know instead."

"I hope you know you must keep this secret now, too. No matter how much you trust someone, the line must be drawn. So, in the name of World Order, you must draw it close," Death reiterated.

"I… understand," Blake accepted. "It should be easy enough… I can only think of one person on Remnant close enough to the fight to question where I've been. No one else would even think to ask, not even my family."

They both heard the footfalls of someone approaching. "Oh, that will be your Keyblade wielder friend! No one else currently has authorization to enter the Death Room," the reaper explained.

"Ruby?" Blake turned and watched her team leader enter the space. "Has Master Mickey called already?"

"Huh? No," Ruby shook her head. "No, I actually have something to ask Lord Death."

"Ask away!" Death responded enthusiastically.

"You said a Keyblade Master took a student from this world," Ruby reminded him. "A student of the Keyblade, right?"

"Of course, what else?" Death pointed out.

"The Keyblade wielder from this world… were they 'Crona'?" she asked.

"Yes, Crona Gorgon," Death answered. Ever perceptive, he followed up, "this information seems to distress you. Is something wrong?"

Ruby turned to Blake. "I just saw a picture of this Crona Gorgon… They're the Black Coat."

"Black Coat?" Death asked. "The Darkness user you mentioned, Blake?"

Blake's eyes widened. "I guess that explains why their portal took us here… but can someone even use Darkness like that and still be a wielder?"

"Not likely," Death answered.

"I saw their heart, when I fought them under Mountain Glenn," Ruby revealed. "There wasn't single ray of light, definitely not Keyblade light."

"This _is_ disturbing information indeed," Death lamented. "Crona worked very hard to fight their inner darkness _before_ they had the Keyblade. I was so sure their manifesting one meant that struggle was finally over…"

"Well, we know who they are now. That's good news, right?" Blake asked.

"I don't know…" Ruby admitted, casting her physical gaze downward as her mental gaze turned inward. "This raises more questions than it answers. For a Guardian of the Light to fall so deep into Darkness… What happened to you, Crona Gorgon?"


	36. Coming to Terms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably could have saved this upload for tomorrow, but I figured, what the hell. It's finished, might as well upload!

Night fell and Blake eventually found Ruby on one of the castle terraces, sitting on the stone railing with her legs dangling off the ledge. "There you are."

Ruby turned her head and watched Blake sit on the railing next to her. "Getting your head around things?"

"Slowly but surely," Blake nodded. "Did… you learn anything more about Crona?"

Ruby's face fell, making Blake flinch. It was clear the revelation that their big dark threat used to be a Keyblade wielder was incredibly distressing for Ruby. "Nothing more than what Lord Death was able to tell us," the young leader finally answered. "It's hard to get answers when you can't tell people why you're asking questions."

Blake understood. Thankfully, Lord Death was able to tell them quite a bit. Apparently, Crona's mother was a witch, _which is apparently a thing in this world,_ and tried to turn Crona into a Kishin. The witch did this by melting down a person in weapon form, mixing the melt with a substance called 'black blood', and replacing all of Crona's blood with the weaponized plasma. The witch then set about ordering their own child, in partnership with the now quite insane 'Demon Sword', Ragnarok, to harvest human souls for power.

It took Blake quite some time to understand the melted weapon-person was still alive in Crona's bloodstream. Ragnarok could even manifest outside of Crona's body by manipulating the black blood to forcefully leave Crona's body and shape-shift into something vaguely humanoid. Though Ragnarok could never leave Crona entirely, the weapon _was_ his partner's blood after all.

Later, Crona was able to change sides thanks mostly to their friendship with Maka Albarn. They were able to somehow purify the taint on Crona's soul, even though Ragnarok was still kind of a jerk by all accounts. It came to a head when Crona finally turned Ragnarok's black blade onto their witch mother. The battle didn't end well for them, however. They only barely survived, somehow both losing Ragnarok _and_ gaining a Keyblade in the process, before becoming instrumental in stopping the true Kishin.

It had been a lot to take in, especially for someone like Blake who was still coming to terms with the fact that there were other worlds, each with its own unique rules and magics. She felt like her head was going to explode with all the new knowledge she had, knowledge she could _never_ share with anyone.

"Are you okay, Blake?" Ruby's voice broke the faunus from her reverie.

Blake frowned for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts for a response. "Now that I know all this… I kind of wish I didn't."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I can never tell anyone, no matter how close I am to them," Blake explained. "And sure, it's not like anyone would ever ask me, but I'd still _know_. I could be chatting with people at Beacon, or even my parents if they'll one day forgive me, and I'll see something that will remind me of all this incredible stuff. And I can't do anything with it. I can't travel worlds, I can't pass on this information, and even if I could who would believe me? A secret I can't even exploit, that I have to take to my grave…"

"It is kind of depressing when you put it like that," Ruby acknowledged. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Blake assured, "heck, you did everything you could to keep me from finding out, even after we landed here."

"You know, knowing this stuff isn't all fun and games for me either," Ruby pointed out. "Sure I _do_ get to travel, but not really for traveling's sake. I have a job to do. A responsibility. To fight the Darkness and keep as much Light safe as possible. _Plus_ I usually have to get help from locals who don't and can't know the big secret. Having Lord Death here was incredibly lucky."

"If anyone can handle a job like that, it's you," Blake smiled. "The worlds are lucky to have you, Ruby Rose."

"Hey, wasn't I just trying to cheer _you_ up?" Ruby chuckled, "when did the script flip on that?"

The pair shared a short chuckle together before falling silent again. It stayed silent for a fair moment before Blake spoke up again, "your school is on a different world, isn't it?"

"The Land of Departure," Ruby nodded. "It's a small world, basically one large mountain range. With a castle of gold-gilded marble built on the highest peak."

"Sounds grandiose," Blake noted.

"When you _live_ in a place like that, you get used to it," Ruby responded.

"Is it still… around?" Blake asked delicately.

Ruby was quiet for a long moment. "What do you mean?" she finally asked.

"I'm honestly not sure if you remember," Blake elaborated, "but I _did_ watch you fall out of the sky."

"Oh. Right," Ruby recalled the day on Vale's beach. Her memory still couldn't place Blake specifically, but she did recall _someone_ there with her. "There is an example for worlds that have fallen to the Heartless returning to the Light. But right now… no. The Land of Departure is gone."

"I'm sorry…" Blake offered.

Silence blanketed them once more, this time to be broken by Ruby. "We should probably get some sleep. Lord Death offered asylum, I'm sure he has beds for us."

"About that," Blake spoke up, "he actually told me where we're sleeping before I left the Death Room to find you."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ruby stood and stretched. Blake shortly followed suit before leading the pair to their designated chambers.

* * *

Ruby and Blake were sitting in on one of Dr. Stein's rather disturbing dissections when they finally got the call. The digital jingle sounded during a quieter moment, nearly causing Stein to sever an important artery on an apparently endangered animal. "Sorry about that," Ruby quickly apologized and left the classroom with Blake close behind. Once they were sure no one was around, Ruby answered. A familiar set of ears appeared on screen. "Your Majesty? The screen's a little high again."

"Oh, right!" The camera panned down till Ruby could see Mickey's face. "Ruby! You're all right!"

"She is!?" Mickey suddenly disappeared, his Gummiphone apparently snatched away by Yang. The older sister's face appeared on screen, and Ruby could see Weiss just behind her. "Ruby!"

"Hey Yang, sorry to worry you all," Ruby offered.

"Sorry!?" Weiss crossed her arms. "You two up and vanished! No one could tell us where you went! We've been worried sick, and you've been _fine_ this whole time!?"

"Weiss, it's not their fault," Yang defended, "they got sucked into that dark portal, remember?"

"According to a drunk," Weiss pointed out.

"Hey, that drunk is my uncle!" Yang shouted.

"Seriously, you two!?" Ruby interrupted. "No fighting!"

"Right, sorry," Weiss shook her head. "Still, if you've been alright, why haven't you contacted us? We had to wait for your Master to come check on you so _he_ could call you."

"Blake and I landed a little outside of scroll range," Ruby half-answered.

"But this device you and Master Mickey have can video call where scrolls can't even send a text message?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"Speaking of Master Mickey, can I please talk to him for a moment?" Ruby segued 'smoothly'.

Weiss rolled her eyes. She was far too used to her leader dodging questions to press any further. "Very well…"

Mickey soon reappeared on screen, looking apologetic. "Sorry about that."

"Yang should be the sorry one, grabbing the Gummiphone like that," Ruby pointed out. "Anyway, we kinda need to be picked up."

"I'm guessing the two of you landed… quite a ways away, huh?" Mickey asked carefully.

"Yeah… we're, umm…" Ruby didn't know how to say with Weiss still listening close by.

"Don't worry," Mickey quickly assured, "I got a couple o' tech wizards who can trace your Gummiphone. I'll let you know when I'm close."

"Thank you, Master," Ruby smiled and hung up.

With the call finished, Blake spoke up, "so, your 'Gummiphone' can make calls literal worlds away?"

"Yup," Ruby confirmed.

"But you didn't have one that day on the beach?" Blake recalled.

"I think I left mine in my room at the castle," Ruby explained. "The one I'm using now is one that was given to my dad so he and Yang could stay in contact with me."

"That makes sense…" Blake nodded. "So… your dad knows too?"

"Yup," Ruby answered.

"But not your uncle?" Blake asked next.

"Uncle Qrow doesn't live with us, so we didn't have to explain to him why I was gone," Ruby explained. "I mean, we were still super close, and he asked _all the time_. But he didn't _need_ that information like Dad and Yang did."

"So you _have_ had to lie to family…" Blake noted solemnly. "I don't envy that."

"Yeah… it could have destroyed our relationship with Qrow. Heck, it probably _should_ have," Ruby admitted, "but thankfully he's been really cool about it. Especially since I learned he was a part of Ozpin's group."

"They don't know either?" Blake realized. "Can't say I'm not relieved that Ironwood doesn't know. He struck me as the type you _need_ to keep this kind of info from."

"Yeah, he doesn't inspire trust, does he?" Ruby agreed.

"Or rather, he _didn't_ …" Blake suddenly recalled, using past tense. "Um… did he… actually die?"

"Huh? Ironwood?" Ruby crossed her arms in thought. "Not really? It's not as simple as 'alive' or 'dead'…"

"Not as simple?" Blake flinched. "Oh brothers, what have I stepped into next…"

"It's like this," Ruby explained in the style of a class lecture, "an Emblem Heartless, at its core, is a corrupted heart. The body has already been lost to the ether. But neither of these facts _really_ match a medical definition of 'death'. There is a possibility that, since I defeated Ironwood's Heartless and freed his heart, that his heart could reunite with his body."

"How much of a possibility?" Blake asked.

"Well, there are other things that can happen, even _more_ complicated things," Ruby revealed. "The idea is that as long as he's gone, he might as well be dead. But there's always the chance he'll come back."

"How do you retain all this information?" Blake wondered aloud. "I'm pretty sure I'll have already forgotten details in just a few minutes…"

"Well, I have been studying at The Land of Departure for three years," Ruby reminded her. "And really, once you accept that _anything_ is kinda possible, it becomes a lot easier to accept. Magic doesn't always follow rules, even the rules magic itself is supposed to have."

"I guess that makes sense," Blake admitted. "It wouldn't really be magic if you can get it down to an exact science. Even I could wake up one day with the power to shoot dark energy blasts out of my butt."

"That's the spirit!" Ruby cheered. "But, uh… please don't."

* * *

The clockwork ticked away above Ozpin's head as he awaited word in his office. He was alerted of an elevator carrying a guest up and looked to the monitor to see who it was. He was quick to buzz Qrow through so the grizzled huntsman could give his report.

"Good news, Oz," Qrow announced.

"Has Ms. Rose or the General returned?" the headmaster asked.

"Yang told me that Ruby will be back soon," Qrow clarified. "Master Mickey showed up and was able to contact her, then he left to collect her."

"That is good," Ozpin nodded. "No news of the General?"

"Well, I did talk to Yang," Qrow told him. "She said Ruby would be able to explain it better, but basically he might come back, or he might not. We won't really know unless he shows up one day."

"That is not so good," Ozpin stood and turned to look out the window. "We have a problem."

"Yeah, I figured Atlas's General vanishing would cause issues sooner or later," Qrow admitted. "What's the deal?"

"Even if we could reveal Ruby's secrets, which we cannot, it still would not be a good idea to claim the General attacked us. The peace Remnant shares is far too fragile," Ozpin explained.

"The official statement was that we don't know where James is, right?" Qrow recalled.

"Correct," Ozpin nodded. "Since we claim not to know, Atlas has decided to send its own investigator. His second in command, Specialist Winter Schnee, is already on her way."

"Great," Qrow shook her head. "So now we're going to have to tiptoe around this investigation while keeping two sets of secrets and fighting a secret war."

"Not to mention to connection to Ruby's team," Ozpin pointed out.

"Schnee," Qrow realized. "Crap."

"Once Ruby returns, I would like to call everyone to meet, including her teammates," Ozpin announced. "There's no more use pretending they're not involved in the fight, and we all need to be on the same page."

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Kingdom Hearts: Tokyo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25877860) by [Sora2131](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sora2131/pseuds/Sora2131)




End file.
